Attorney General's News Release

July 17, 2008

Jasper County jury commits Joplin man as sexually violent predator

Joplin, Mo. - A jury in Jasper County today found Theodore Ginnery to be a sexually violent predator (SVP) and committed him to the state treatment center in Farmington. Circuit Judge David Mouton signed the judgment and commitment order.

The office of Attorney General Jay Nixon sought to have Ginnery (DOB -10/15/45) committed as an SVP due to his 1979 conviction in Jasper County for sodomy involving a 10-year old girl, for which he received 15 years in prison. Ginnery was also convicted of statutory rape involving a 13-year girl in Jasper County in 1980, for which he received an additional 13 years in prison, with a judge ordering the two sentences to run consecutively. Testimony also revealed that prior to moving to Joplin, Ginnery had been charged with child-sex offenses seven times and convicted once in the state of California in the mid-1970's. A petition for civil commitment was filed November 9, 2004.

"My office continues to aggressively pursue the indefinite commitment of those who still pose a threat to the public safety of Missourians," Nixon said. "While these offenders are civilly committed, they can receive the treatment they need."

Those committed by the court as sexually violent predators have the right to have their cases reviewed to determine if their mental abnormality has so changed that they are not likely to commit acts of sexual violence if released.

Currently, there are 102 sexually violent predators held in civil commitment in Missouri. Sexually violent predator commitments are handled by the Public Safety Division in Nixon's office. Missouri's sexually violent predator law took effect in January 1999.