Camdenton Man, Charged With Luring 12-Year-Old Girl For Sex, Will Go To Trial This Month

EDITOR'S NOTE: Carnahan pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2024 and received two 20-year prison sentences, to be served concurrently.

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CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — A Camdenton man charged with luring and having sex with a 12-year-old girl will go to trial this month.

Thomas Lee Carnahan, 38, of Camdenton, charged with 4 counts of Statutory Rape (person less than 14 years old) and one count of Statutory Sodomy (person less than 14 years old), goes to trial on October 17, 2023, in Morgan County, Mo. The case will be heard at the Morgan County Courthouse in Versailles with Judge Kenneth Hayden.

The jury trial will run through Friday, Oct. 20, with a 491 Chapter Hearing at the beginning of the trial. Carnahan remains in custody at the Morgan County Detention Center. A protective order was issued in July 2023 per Judge Hayden according to court documents. Carnahan is represented by Attorney Christopher Frieburger of Osage Beach.

A warrant was originally issued in June 2021 for the charges by Camden County Sheriff’s Department with no bond. Carnahan petitioned the court for a change of venue in August 2021, moving the case to Morgan County.

As reported in June 2021 by Lake Expo, probable cause statements show that Carnahan admitted to making a victim of his then-12-year-old neighbor, by sending graphic Snapchats, messages, and video chats. He then lured the female in the Camdenton School District into sex on 10 different occasions, per his admission recorded in the document.

One of the victim’s friends reportedly saw the pictures on the girl's electronic device and reported it to her parents, who then reported it to school officials. School officials notified the Camdenton Police Department. The incidents began in September 2020 in Camdenton, with the victim reportedly voicing a wish to marry Carnahan when she turned 18.

According to Missouri Case Net files, Carnahan was also charged with 4th Degree Assault in Miller County and served 15 days in Miller County Jail in January 2022, with a no contact order served.