Jefferson City man pleads guilty to sexually abusing child, gets 5 years of probation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man who was accused of sexually assaulting a child pleaded guilty to a felony earlier this week.

Bryan Klempke pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to five years of parole. He was originally charged with first-degree sexual abuse and incest.

Court documents in previous reporting say that police were called on Feb. 28, 2024, for a report of two incidents regarding Klempke, one being sexual abuse and the other was an allegation of domestic abuse.

Court documents stated the child victim told Christina Garza they were sexually assaulted on Jan. 1, 2024, but was then threatened by Garza.

Garza was previously a reserve officer for the Jefferson City Police Department. She pleaded guilty in August 2024 to misdemeanor failing to report child abuse and was fined $2,000. She was originally charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and failure of a mandated reporter to report child abuse.

Previous reporting indicates the Callaway County Children’s Division reported to investigators that it received a tip on Feb. 24, 2024, who alleged Garza told them about the abuse. Garza allegedly told that person that they didn’t report the assault because she owed him $30,000, court documents say.