A U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed at the Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, military base has been indicted by a federal grand jury for killing a two-year-old child at his wife’s home daycare.
Kevin Long, 40, was charged in a two-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, June 27.
That indictment was unsealed and made public today following Long’s arrest and initial court appearance. Long remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on July 6, 2023.
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The federal indictment alleges that on Nov. 6, 2019, Long physically assaulted a two-year-old child, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe,” as part of a pattern and practice of assault against a child.
Long killed the child, the indictment says, by blunt force injuries in the perpetration of child abuse.
The girl was being cared for by Long and his wife in a daycare she operated out of their home on Fort Leonard Wood.
Under federal law, murder committed in the perpetration of child abuse is murder in the first-degree.
Long also is charged with one count of making a false statement. Long allegedly told authorities during the murder investigation that he was unaware of Army regulations that restricted the operation of a daycare at Fort Leonard Wood.
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