Gainesville man charged with child sex abuse

Henry Parker
Henry Parker, of Gainesville, is scheduled to appear in Ozark County Court at 9 a.m. March 5, 2025, in connection with a Douglas County case in which he’s charged with sexually abusing a girl less than 14 years old.
Online records show Parker has been charged with first-degree child molestation, sexual abuse and second-degree sexual misconduct.
The indictment filed says that Parker abused the girl between October 2010 and December 2011. In one instance, documents say Parker grabbed the girl by the hair and forced her to perform sexual acts.
Because the alleged acts occurred in Douglas County, the case was filed there; however, it came to Ozark County on a change of venue motion Dec. 3.
Online records indicate Parker will either submit a guilty plea during the March 5 hearing, or the case will be set for trial. Parker is represented by defense attorney Jacob Garrett of West Plains. A motion for continuance filed by Garrett says that March 5 was the soonest that the defense attorney, prosecutor and judge all had availability for the hearing.
Parker posted a $50,000 bond and was granted a pre-trial release from jail.