Missouri state Rep. Rick Roeber has resigned after being banned from the GOP caucus over accusations of sexually and physically abusing his children, KSHB reported Wednesday.
Roeber, who ran to replace his deceased wife in the state House in 2020, was embroiled in controversy when his adult children came forward during the election with graphic details of physical and sexual assault at his hands.
Incredibly, Republican voters ignored the accusations and he was elected anyway. But his children made a plea to now-GOP state House Speaker Rob Vescovo to prevent him from being seated. Vescovo sided with the children and Roeber was banned from the GOP House caucus pending an ethics investigation.
Roeber did not cite the assault and molestation allegations as the reason for his resignation, according to the report.
“He said he needs to move out of state to be closer to family and cited that as the reason for his departure from the Legislature. He also said he has accomplished his only legislative goals: voting on education bills and memorializing his late wife, former Republican Rep. Rebecca Roeber,” KSHB’s Summer Ballentine reported.
The scandal comes as former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, forced to resign over allegations of sexual assault and blackmailing a mistress, is mounting an attempted political comeback with a run for Senate.
