February 25th, 2026 Local News
St. Francois Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A 66-year-old man has been sentenced to the equivalent of multiple life terms following his conviction on numerous sex crimes involving minors.
On Friday, February 20, 2026, Richard Warren was sentenced to five life sentences on four counts of Statutory Sodomy in the First Degree, one count of Attempted Statutory Rape, and an additional eight years for two counts of Sexual Misconduct Involving a Child. All sentences were ordered to run consecutively, resulting in a total of 158 years in prison. The sentence follows a two-day jury trial held in December, where Warren was found guilty on all counts. During the trial, two of Warren’s step-granddaughters testified, describing a series of sexual assaults committed against them over a two-year period. According to prosecutors, the sentencing brings an end to what they described as 35 years of predatory behavior against minor children.
While preparing for trial, the prosecutor uncovered a 2001 conviction involving Warren in Cape Girardeau for Endangering the Welfare of a Child. That misdemeanor charge had been amended down from original felony charges of Statutory Rape and Statutory Sodomy. Further investigation led prosecutors to obtain the original case file from the Perry County Prosecutor’s Office. The decades-old file revealed evidence that Warren had previously pleaded guilty in 1987 to a previously unknown child sex offense in Bollinger County.
Evidence of the 2001 conviction was presented to the jury during the December trial.