Former Warren County man sentenced to life in prison for sex crimes
Bruce B. Cofer Jr., 53, formerly of Warren County, has been sentenced to life in prison for sex crimes dating back to the 1980s.
Bruce B. Cofer Jr.
Cofer already was serving a 15-year prison sentence for two counts of statutory rape. Prosecutors filed new charges in February for crimes against another victim. Those charges dated back to 1988.
Cofer pleaded guilty in August of two counts of statutory sodomy and no contest to one count of sodomy and one count of forcible sodomy. Pleading no contest meant Cofer did not admit guilt, but he agreed prosecutors had sufficient evidence for a judge or jury to find him guilty.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to ask that the sentences in the new case run concurrent to each other, but they asked Judge John B. Berkemeyer to run the new sentence consecutive to the one Cofer already was serving.
Berkemeyer is a judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit in Gasconade County. He was assigned to hear the case.
Berkemeyer sentenced Cofer to life in prison for the most recent case. That sentence is consecutive to the one Cofer already is serving. State law requires Cofer to serve at least 85 percent of the life sentence in the most recent case.
The state Division of Probation and Parole uses a term of 30 years to calculate parole eligibility for a life sentence. That means Cofer will be required to serve 25 years and six months of the most recent sentence before becoming eligible for release.
Assistant public defender Milan Berry represented Cofer.
(1 votes, average: 2 out of 5)
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Shane, can you fill your readers in on the Statute of Limitations and why this case was still open after 21 years?
Shane.. another question about the case I didn’t find. Was this some Cold Case that was solved using DNA?
Storywiz,
This was not a cold case. The victims came forward.
There are several crimes in Missouri that do not fall under the statute of limitations. If you look up 556.036, it lists some of them. Forcible sodomy is one.
Section 556.037 says prosecutors have 20 after the alleged victim turns 18 to file charges against someone for “unlawful sexual offenses involving a person 18 years or younger.” I believe that would apply to the statutory sodomy offenses in this case. They occurred in 1997 and 1998, according to Casenet.
Thank you for asking questions.
Shane Anthony | Post-Dispatch
storywiz, This is hardly a cold case. This man molested at least two victims that he had access to. He was charged several years ago with the crimes against one of the victims, and just prior to trial, pled guilty to 2 counts with no plea deal in place. The prosecutor asked for two life sentences, but asked that the sentences be run concurrently since the defendant did plead guilty and did not put the victims through a trial. This man had molested these girls, and when they told him that they no longer wanted that to happen, he began drugging them and continuing the abuse. The judge disregarded the prosecutor’s recomendation and ordered Cofer to serve two 15 year sentences to be served concurrently. An absolute miscarriage of justice by the judge on the case, Judge Burkemper from Lincoln County. The prosecutor then filed charges from the other victim in an effort to gain justice for the victims, and Judge Berkemeyer had the sense and courage to do the right thing and assure the safety of the victims and society. This should have been over with several years ago had the original sentence been JUST.