Brandy Rhoades, 40, and Shane O’Dell, 41, were arrested May 25, each on two counts of child abuse, no sexual contact, B felony. The charges were filed on May 21, with accusations dating back to August 2018. Bond for Rhoades and O’Dell has been set at $50,000 cash only.
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According to the probable cause statement, Deputy Larry Adams and a case worker from the Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division, received allegations of possible physical abuse of a 6-year-old juvenile male on Aug. 24, 2018.
Deputy Adams and the case worker contacted Gallatin school officials who said that they had observed bruising on the child. They also stated that on multiple occasions, the child had asked for food and always seemed hungry.
Deputy Adams and the case worker then went to the residence of Rhoades and O’Dell on 262nd Street, Gallatin. Rhoades and O’Dell have custody and control of the alleged victim.
Rhoades allowed the officers into the residence and they interviewed the child briefly. The boy said that O’Dell had hit him and had thrown him against a wall. According to Rhoades, the bruises were self-inflicted by the child banging his head against walls.
A 9-year-old juvenile who lives at the residence was interviewed by Deputy Robert Mazur at the Gallatin school. The 9-year-old said that he had witnessed Rhoades locking the 6-year-old into the basement overnight on multiple occasions. The 6-year-old alleged victim stated that he gets “locked in the basement with only a bed, potty chair and a blanket sheet.”
Rhoades allowed Deputy Adams and the case worker to see the basement, which was unfinished with a concrete floor and contained a mattress and an infrared heater on top of a TV on the floor. The doorway to the basement was padlocked on the exterior.
A forensic interview of the 9-year-old juvenile was conducted Sept. 5, 2018, in Trenton. The 9-year-old stated that the 6-year-old boy would get up in the night looking for food and beverages and that the victim was disciplined for urinating in his bed by being locked overnight in the basement.
The two juveniles were removed from the home.
A forensic interview of the 6-year-old victim was conducted on May 6, 2019, in St. Joseph. The child said that O’Dell had punched him with a closed fist and that Rhoades had smacked him with her open hand, causing bruises in both cases. The child said that Rhoades and O’Dell would not give him food and that he had to use a black bucket in the basement as his bathroom, as O’Dell would not let him use the upstairs bathroom.
The charges against Rhoades and O’Dell were filed May 21, upon appointment of a special prosecutor from the Missouri Attorney General’s office to the case.