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Republican accused of abusing his children denied membership in House GOP caucus • Missouri Independent

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Rick Roeber, the Republican elected to the Missouri House while facing allegations by his adult children that he physically and sexually abused them when they were young, will not be allowed to caucus with his party when the legislative session begins next month.Roeber will be sworn into office next month, and the allegations against him will be investigated by the House ethics committee.“Our House leadership team takes the troubling allegations against Rep.-elect Rick Roeber very seriously and we have decided he will not be a member of our caucus at this time,” incoming House Speaker Rob Vescovo, incoming Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann said in a joint statement released Monday afternoon.“When the 2021 legislative session commences in January,” the statement said, “the House Ethics Committee will conduct a thorough investigation of the accusations made by his children. We will await the committee’s recommendations for the next steps to take in this matter.”The House has the authority to expel a member with a two thirds vote. Short of that, Roeber’s exile from his party’s caucus could eventually translate into House leadership refusing to allow him to serve on any committees or allow any bills he files to progress through the legislative process.In response to a request for comment by The Independent, Roeber forwarded a letter he sent to Vescovo saying that he can “see the wisdom in making me a caucus of one at this juncture to allow any ethics complaints against me to be investigated and discussed. As I have stated, I am guiltless of any of the accusations against me and will be fully exonerated through due process.”He added that he expects to be fully admitted to the GOP caucus after the ethics committee’s investigation is complete.Last month, three of Roeber’s children — Anastasia Roeber, Samson Roeber and Gabrielle Galeano — sent a letter to Vescovo detailing the allegations and .House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said she is thankful that GOP leaders made the decision not to caucus with Roeber, although “I wish there had been statements made or actions taken prior to the election so we wouldn’t be in this situation.”Ideally, Quade said, Roeber will resign before being sworn in next month. But if he is seated as a state representative and an ethics investigation is launched, she said the priority should be not to re-traumatize his children.“I hope we can look at the available public documents,” she said, “and that his adult children aren’t forced to testify and relive the trauma over and over again.”XRepublishing Guidelines ▪ You must give Missouri Independent credit, including https://missouriindependent.com and author.▪ If you publish online, include the links from the story, and a link to Missouri Independent.▪ Stories may be edited for in-house style or to shorten. More substantial changes should be noted as additional and conducted by your publication.▪ You can publish our graphics and any photos that are credit to Missouri Independent with the stories with which they originally appeared. 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Feel free, however, to publish it on a page with ads you’ve already sold.by Jason Hancock, December 14, 2020 Republican accused of abusing his children denied membership in House GOP caucus  by Jason Hancock, Missouri Independent  December 14, 2020 Rick Roeber, the Republican elected to the Missouri House while facing allegations by his adult children that he physically and sexually abused them when they were young, will not be allowed to caucus with his party when the legislative session begins next month.Roeber will be sworn into office next month, and the allegations against him will be investigated by the House ethics committee.“Our House leadership team takes the troubling allegations against Rep.-elect Rick Roeber very seriously and we have decided he will not be a member of our caucus at this time,” incoming House Speaker Rob Vescovo, incoming Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann said in a joint statement released Monday afternoon.“When the 2021 legislative session commences in January,” the statement said, “the House Ethics Committee will conduct a thorough investigation of the accusations made by his children. We will await the committee’s recommendations for the next steps to take in this matter.”The House has the authority to expel a member with a two thirds vote. Short of that, Roeber’s exile from his party’s caucus could eventually translate into House leadership refusing to allow him to serve on any committees or allow any bills he files to progress through the legislative process.In response to a request for comment by The Independent, Roeber forwarded a letter he sent to Vescovo saying that he can “see the wisdom in making me a caucus of one at this juncture to allow any ethics complaints against me to be investigated and discussed. As I have stated, I am guiltless of any of the accusations against me and will be fully exonerated through due process.”He added that he expects to be fully admitted to the GOP caucus after the ethics committee’s investigation is complete.Last month, three of Roeber’s children — Anastasia Roeber, Samson Roeber and Gabrielle Galeano — sent a letter to Vescovo detailing the allegations and .House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said she is thankful that GOP leaders made the decision not to caucus with Roeber, although “I wish there had been statements made or actions taken prior to the election so we wouldn’t be in this situation.”Ideally, Quade said, Roeber will resign before being sworn in next month. But if he is seated as a state representative and an ethics investigation is launched, she said the priority should be not to re-traumatize his children.“I hope we can look at the available public documents,” she said, “and that his adult children aren’t forced to testify and relive the trauma over and over again.”is part of States Newsroom, a network of news outlets supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and . Copy to clipboard1Republish this storyOur stories may be republished online or in print under . We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.The Missouri Independent is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to relentless investigative journalism and daily reporting that sheds light on state government and its impact on the lives of Missourians. This service is free to readers and other news outlets.Contact us:© Missouri IndependentAdjust Font SizeA-A+Reset Font SizeSpotlight Tab Key NavigationSwitch to Plain FontUnderline LinksHighlight LinksReset All OptionsGreyscale ImagesInvert Colors

Rick Roeber, the Republican elected to the Missouri House while facing allegations by his adult children that he physically and sexually abused them when they were young, will not be allowed to caucus with his party when the legislative session begins next month.Roeber will be sworn into office next month, and the allegations against him will be investigated by the House ethics committee.“Our House leadership team takes the troubling allegations against Rep.-elect Rick Roeber very seriously and we have decided he will not be a member of our caucus at this time,” incoming House Speaker Rob...

Republican accused of abusing his children denied membership in House GOP caucus • Missouri Independent

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