Group calls on Nixon to grant clemency to registered sex offender

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is calling on Governor Jay Nixon to grant clemency for Earnest Leap, a man registered as a sex offender amid accusations he molested his son.

Representative Jim Neely, R-Cameron, led a media conference Tuesday morning, during which he and his colleagues presented a letter to be delivered to Nixon’s office later in the day. Neely says Leap, who has been on the sex offender registry for more than 20 years, was falsely accused. Some believe the accusations were fabricated as a way for Leap’s ex-wife to get full custody of their children.