Licking man found guilty of child molestation

The Licking News

A Phelps County jury of seven males and five females listened to two days of evidence before finding Alan Haneline, 73, of Licking, guilty of two counts of Child Molestation.

Haneline was arrested in February of 2017 when a grand jury indictment charged him after an investigation led by Chief Deputy Rowdy Douglas of the Texas County Sheriff’s Department. A bond of one million dollars was posted and from February of 2017 until the verdict, Haneline was in the community on bond supervision.

After the guilty verdict, Haneline’s one million dollar bond was revoked and he was taken into custody to await formal sentencing. Sentencing is set for January 5, 2022, in Texas County. Haneline could receive up to nineteen years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the two counts.

“The Jury heard all of the evidence and found it proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crimes charged,” said Parke Stevens Jr., Texas County Prosecuting Attorney.

Judge Ronald White, Senior Circuit Judge of the 25th Circuit, presided over the trial.