Josh Hawley badgered Judge Jackson on sex-crime sentencing, but
no one in Missouri has a weaker record on sex-crime prosecution than he does. “One prosecution Hawley did handle as attorney general was a 2018 sexual abuse and domestic assault case against former Knox County Sheriff Robert Becker. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's probable cause statement, Becker was charged with violent sexual encounters against his former partner, who alleged he "choked" her with a shirt in one instance.
“Instead of bringing the case to trial, Hawley agreed to a plea deal in which Becker served no jail time and instead received two years of probation and resigned his office.”
...“In November 2020 a judge ruled that Becker had failed to complete the mandatory sexual offender counseling required under the plea bargain and sentenced him to 20 days of "shock incarceration" — jail time intended to "shock" an offender into avoiding future crimes.”
Hawley’s shortcomings on sex crimes were not confined to the ones detailed in the report. Soon after taking office in 2018, Hawley attempted to brush aside explosive allegations of sexual abuse by priests. He tried to pass the responsibility to local prosecutors saying he lacked jurisdiction, the Kansas City Star reported at the time.
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