Sedalia Woman Arrested for Child Molestation; Bond set at $100,000

Sedalia Police responded to the 1500 block of South Harrison Avenue for a warrant check on Wednesday night.

Officers made contact with the suspect and checked her information with Dispatch. Dispatch revealed the suspect had a warrant for her arrest from Pettis County.

The warrant was issued in January 2024, stemming from an incident in 2022, after several months of investigation. In that incident, Officers with the Children’s Division worked with Officers and Detectives with the State of Arkansas and the Arkansas Highway Patrol* concerning several allegations of child molestation.

It was discovered the suspect, the victim’s mother, had sexually molested the victim with the child’s father multiple times. The suspect also had kept child pornography on her cell phone for the father (who is currently incarcerated in Phelps County) to “keep him happy."

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The suspect was interviewed in December of 2023, and admitted she was manipulated into touching the child at the father’s insistence.

Sarah L. Cox, 43, of Sedalia, was arrested on a charge of felony Child Molestation in the 2nd Degree (Child Less than 12 Years Old). Cox was transported to the Pettis County Jail to be booked on her warrant, pending a $100,000 cash or surety bond.

*Casenet 24PT-CR00048 carries the full Probable Cause Statement, which is referenced in this article. The child currently resides in Arkansas with other family members, where the investigation began. The events the child described took place in Sedalia.