Changes could be made to juveniles standing trial as adults

Missouri legislators are considering changing the way a minor is held in jail while awaiting trial.

House Bill 708 says when a minor is standing trial as an adult, they will be detained in a juvenile facility. Cole County Sheriff Greg White testified in favor of the bill.

An example of this was the horrific murder of a small girl named Elizabeth Olten that happened several years back in Cole County.

White said the predator, Alyssa Bustamante, was 15 at the time, but the courts eventually tried her as an adult.

White said they had no choice but to hold her in jail with adults, which in Missouri is age 17.

He said in Bustamante’s case they couldn’t keep her in a juvenile correctional facility because they aren’t meant to hold minors long term like jails are.

He said their only option was to put her in isolation away from the adult population.

“So, while they are waiting for that process to go through, we have to look at them as if they are like any other good citizen, but yet we think they are a sufficient danger that we have to isolate them from society,” said Cole County Sheriff Greg White.

White also mentioned a new regulation called “PREA”, which stands for Prison Rape Elimination System can help protect juveniles in prison. If jails don’t comply with PREA regulations they can be penalized by federal grants.