Former Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club cook charged with child sex crime

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The former head cook of the Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club has been charged with a child sex crime in Cole County.

Scott Minor, 45, of Jefferson City was charged on Thursday with child enticement. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

Court documents say Minor tried to entice a 12-year-old, but reference inappropriate conversations he had with other children. Text messages recovered by law enforcement allegedly show Minor admitting to “dating” a 14-year-old. Minor allegedly communicated with children with an app, as well as the website Omegle.

The Pea Ridge, Arkansas, Police Department also allegedly obtained communications between Minor and one of the children.  That information was obtained after the victim’s mother consented to have data from the victim’s cellphone extracted by law enforcement, the statement says.

Court documents say Minor was taken into custody on July 25 for unrelated warrants. Law enforcement asked him about his employment status and he allegedly said he was fired from the Boys and Girls Club on July 20 after they heard about the allegations against him.

The Boys and Girls Club confirmed he is not currently employed with them in an email to ABC 17 News.

“The safety and protection of the young people we serve is—and will always be—our highest priority. We are aware of the arrest of a former staff member involving alleged inappropriate behavior toward a minor. We are deeply disturbed by these reports, as no harm should ever come to any child. While the reports do not involve any Boys & Girls Club members, our thoughts and support are with the victim and their family,” the email says.

A social media post from the Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club indicates he was hired in July 2024.

Court documents say Minor thought he was being interviewed by law enforcement about a separate instance of having inappropriate communications with a youth on Omegle, but claimed he did not know that girl’s age. Omegle is a website where people can video chat with each other.

Minor alleged he did not talk about anything sexual with the 12-year-old, despite law enforcement gathering evidence showing otherwise. He allegedly told law enforcement that by the time the child is 18 years old, he will be older than 50 and “would have probably forgotten about her,” according to the probable cause statement.

Law enforcement gathered more messages from Minor’s electronic devices from May 29-June 25 that show a number of inappropriate conversations between Minor and the youth.