Hannibal man receives 14-year sentence for statutory sodomy as part of Alford plea agreement

PALMYRA, Mo. — Judge David Mobley sentenced a Hannibal man on Wednesday to 14 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections after he entered an Alford plea to two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy.

William E. Earle, 41, now is serving two consecutive seven-year sentences after accepting a plea agreement earlier this month, in which charges of first-degree sodomy and sexual misconduct involving a child were dropped. By entering the Alford plea, Earle maintained his innocence but agreed the state had enough evidence to prove him guilty.

Earle was arrested on January 16, 2023, at a residence on Park Avenue in Hannibal. According to a probable cause statement made by Det. Jordan Freiling with the Hannibal Police Department, officers responded to a report of a sexual offense committed by Earle to a blood-related minor female.

During a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center in Hannibal, the minor female disclosed details of sexual misconduct involving a sex toy, inappropriate touching, forcing her to watch explicit movies with him and exposing herself in certain clothes.

The probable cause statement also reported similar allegations of acts committed by Earle in 2020 with another minor female in Grady County in Oklahoma.