JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A St. Louis grand jury investigating Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has subpoenaed some of his staffers.

The staffers’ attorneys confirmed the subpoenas Thursday to the Kansas City Star but wouldn’t name the employees.

The Republican governor was indicted by the grand jury on one felony count of invasion of privacy. The indictment alleges Greitens took a compromising photo of a woman without her consent while they had an affair in March 2015.

Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves told the newspaper that his law firm is representing some of Greitens’ official staffers.

Attorney Catherine Hanaway said she’s representing a staffer who also used to serve on Greitens’ campaign. Hanaway says her law firm has been retained by Greitens’ campaign but added that no current campaign staffers have been subpoenaed.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis prosecutors do not have the photo at the heart of the indictment of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens but told a judge Wednesday that they plan to get it.

Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and assistant prosecutor Robert Steele were in court along with Greitens’ lawyers for a hearing in which Circuit Judge Rex Burlison set a May 14 trial date for Greitens on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge.

The Republican governor was indicted last week, accused of taking an unauthorized photo of a woman with whom he was having an affair during a sexual encounter in the basement of his St. Louis home in March 2015, before he was elected.

Greitens has admitted to the affair but denied criminal wrongdoing. In a January interview with The Associated Press and in subsequent interviews and news conferences, he has declined to say if he took a photo of the woman.

During the court hearing, defense attorney Jim Bennett told the judge he was informed by prosecutors “that the photo in the indictment doesn’t exist.”

Steele told Burlison that Bennett’s characterization was wrong. He said prosecutors don’t have the photo “yet.”

“I did not tell them the picture doesn’t exist. I told them we don’t have it in our possession at this time,” Steele said. “We plan to get that picture.”

Steele did not elaborate. Attorneys from both sides declined comment after the hearing. Gardner’s spokeswoman, Susan Ryan, would not discuss the photo but said Greitens’ attorneys continue to “mischaracterize the statements we make regarding the facts of this case, and that’s disappointing.”

The trial scheduling comes as members of the Missouri House have launched their own bipartisan investigation that could determine whether to initiative impeachment proceedings against Greitens, once considered a rising star in national Republican politics.

All that is swirling around Greitens was part of the reason Burlison agreed to a May trial, not the November date requested by prosecutors. Steele cited a need for further investigation before the trial begins, noting that the pre-indictment investigation was rushed because the statute of limitations for invasion of privacy would have run out in March.

Burlison said the earlier date is necessary in part because the case has ripples in the state Capitol. A May 14 trial would come during the final week of the annual legislative session.

“This case affects the course of business for the state of Missouri,” Burlison said.

Missouri Ethics Commission records show that Republican consultant Aaron Baker registered Wednesday to lobby on behalf of Greitens at the Missouri Capitol. Baker had registered last week to lobby on behalf of the Dowd Bennett law firm. Baker also registered as a lobbyist Wednesday for Joplin businessman David Humphreys, a major contributor to Greitens’ campaign committee.

Greitens, his lawyers and the state Republican Party have said the investigation and indictment are politically motivated. Greitens called Gardner, a Democrat, a “reckless liberal prosecutor” in a statement last week.

Gardner’s office submitted a court filing Tuesday listing evidence it was supplying to Greitens’ defense team, including a photo of the woman and emails between Greitens and the woman. Another attorney for Greitens, Edward L. Dowd Jr., said that photo was “a publicly posted professional headshot” and not the compromising photo the indictment alleges Greitens took.

Gardner on Tuesday confirmed that her office hired a private company, Enterra LLC of Michigan, to perform the investigation that led to the indictment, rather than relying on St. Louis police.

Ryan said the office first asked St. Louis police for help but was directed to the FBI, which in turn said the investigation was out of its jurisdiction. But police department spokeswoman Schron Jackson said in an email Wednesday that the department “was not asked then or now to investigate Eric Greitens.” St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, through a spokesman, declined comment.

Dowd said an open records request revealed the company has already been paid at least $10,000. Ryan said she did not immediately have updated information on the amount paid to Enterra.

The Missouri House has formed a seven-member committee to investigate the allegations that led to Greitens’ indictment. The panel would be allowed to compel testimony and evidence using subpoenas. In some cases, information could be redacted to protect the identity of witnesses, a resolution says. The committee also would be able to hire independent investigators, special counsel, court reporters and other personnel with House funds. The panel would have 40 days to produce a report but could take longer.

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TUSCUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A former teacher in central Missouri has been charged with sexual misconduct with a student.

The News Tribune reports that 35-year-old Joseph Rice IV was charged with second-degree sexual misconduct for soliciting explicit photographs and sexual contact from a then-16-year-old female student. He was released on $200,000 bond and ordered not to have any contact with the student.

A probable cause statement says the student told investigators this week that Rice began flirting with her on social media in May. The statement says Rice sent the student sexually explicit messages and photos, and asked her to send nude photos.

Rice worked at the Miller County R-III district at the time. He’s been working at a school district in Camden County.

Rice’s attorney, Dana Martin, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that it collected nearly $27 million more in taxes than anticipated in February.

The report Thursday from the state Department of Revenue was more good news for legislators as they face a Kansas Supreme Court mandate to increase spending on public schools. It was the ninth consecutive month that tax collections have exceeded expectations.

Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said the state’s ongoing monthly revenue surpluses could be an indication of economic optimism.

The state reported collecting $373 million in taxes last month when its official projections predicted collections of $346 million. The monthly surplus was 7.7 percent.

Since the fiscal year began in July, the state has collected $4.3 billion in taxes. That’s $275 million more than expected and a surplus of 6.8 percent.

NEW YORK (AP) — Equifax said Thursday that an additional 2.4 million Americans were impacted by last year’s data breach, however these newly disclosed consumers had significantly less personal information stolen.

The company says the additional consumers only had their names and a partial driver’s license number stolen by the attackers, unlike the original 145.5 million Americans who had their Social Security numbers impacted. Attackers were unable to get the state where the license was issued, the date of issuance or its expiration date.

In total, roughly 147.9 million Americans have been impacted by Equifax’s data breach. It remains the largest data breach of personal information in history.

The company says they were able to find the additional 2.4 million Americans by cross referencing names with partial driver’s license numbers using both internal and external data sources. These Americans were not found in the original breach because Equifax had focused its investigation on those with Social Security numbers impacted. Individuals with stolen Social Security numbers are generally more at risk for identity theft because of how prolific Social Security numbers are used in identity verification.

Equifax Inc. says it will reach out to all newly impacted consumers and will provide the same credit monitoring and identity theft protection services they have been offering to the original victims.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A 21-year-old man has been charged with killing his mother at a home just east of the Springfield city limits.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that Conner Jacob Cox, of Springfield, is being held without bond on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of 53-year-old Angela Cox.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that Angela Cox’s husband found her dead Tuesday from an apparent gunshot wound after coming home from work. Her son was taken into custody early Wednesday in Taney County.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A man has been charged with molesting children at two southwest Missouri swimming pools before becoming a youth pastor.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that 24-year-old Spenser Farr was charged this week with five counts of statutory sodomy. His attorney didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.

Court documents allege he sexually abused two boys in 2012 and 2013, including at a pool in Steelville where he worked as a swimming instructor and lifeguard. Court documents say the boy and his father reported the abuse to a manager, and the manager told a detective Farr was fired. It’s unclear if the manager reported the allegations to police at the time.

Hamlin Baptist Church near Springfield said in a statement that Farr is no longer a student pastor there.

By Peyton Kraus

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — Alyssa Runyon was unaware of her new friend Keith Hawkins’ criminal past when she offered him a place to stay after a Facebook post said he needed somewhere to sleep for the night.

That night in August 2017, Hawkins’ entered the room of Runyon’s daughter, Zaylynn, and killed the young girl. When Alyssa found him in Zaylynn’s room, Hawkins killed Alyssa as well.

Although Hawkins was required to register as a sex offender after committing a sexually violent crime against a 5-year-old when he was 12, he was only listed with law enforcement rather than a publically available list.

Edward Runyon, the father and grandfather of the victims, testified during the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee in support of HB2739, which would require juveniles to register as sex offenders for life and on a public forum for being convicted with aggravated sexually violent crimes.

“I think we’re here to protect the innocent and unfortunately we do many things as kids; we steal a candy bar we do other things like that, but we don’t (unintelligible) sexualize a child or anything like that,” Runyon said during his emotional testimony. “That’s where you cross a line as far as what’s OK and what’s not OK.”

Current law requires offenders under 14 to register until they are 18 or for five years after the incident, whichever is longer. For those older than 14, the same requirements apply, unless it is a severity level one offense. HB2739 as currently written would eliminate these exceptions, causing all juveniles to register for life for all sexually violent crimes.

Runyon went to his district’s legislator Rep. John Whitmer (R-Wichita) and asked for legislation that would attempt to stop tragedies from happening in the future.

“I’m getting a little tired of people not holding people accountable for their actions,” Whitmer said after the hearing. “I mean don’t get me wrong I don’t want to ruin a kid’s life as an adult because he’s having to register for the rest of his life — you commit that crime, I could care less if you have to go register.”

Eight written testimonies in opposition of the bill were sent to the House Committee with similarities between each. Opponents argued previous legislation and cases, saying it is unfair to punish juveniles as adults based on their underdeveloped brains. In addition, opposing testimony evaluated taking away the hope of juveniles for a better future by forcing them to register for a lifetime.

“To spend a lifetime paying for a crime committed as a child is the surest way to take away someone’s hope,” said Jason Runyan, whose 18-year-old son has one more year of registering as a sex offender after sexually assaulting Runyan’s younger step-son.

Opposition came in ways of asking for psychological treatment in communities to overcome trauma, as many juvenile offenders are often previously abused themselves as pointed out in licensed professional counselor Emily Schmidt’s written testimony. Other testimonies asked for professional help on both sides of trauma in legislation rather than further prosecution.

“My opinion is the best person to help them is a psychologist, someone who is trained to identify these issues and work with these issues not necessarily a blanket law” said Topher Philgreen, chief operating officer of Youthfront.

Philgreen presented stories of juveniles he has worked with who have been in legal trouble after exploring and developing in their sexuality through touching of peers.

HB2739 requires offenders of violent sex crimes of all severities to register for life on a public forum. Whitmer said that the levels of severity could be addressed as the bill is further discussed. This could include the Romeo and Juliet situation deemed acceptable by many parties, which refers to sexual contact between minors who are less than four years apart in age, even though the legal age of consent is 16 years old.

“The Romeo and Juliet issue can be–rarely is it ever charged as a level six (offense)—but it can be. So perhaps one of the things we do when we rework the bill is carve out that because obviously that’s not what we’re going for,” Whitmer said after the hearing.

There is no further discussion scheduled for HB2739.

Peyton Kraus is a University of Kansas junior majoring in journalism from Minneapolis.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. –A Kansas man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for distributing large amounts of methamphetamine in the Joplin, Mo., area.

Jacob A. Beckham, 33, Topeka, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years in federal prison without parole.

On July 26, 2017, Beckham pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

According to court documents, a detective with the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department saw Beckham, driving a black Ford Fusion, swerve over the yellow line several times on I-49 near Highway V on May 5, 2015. A deputy followed the vehicle to the parking lot of Shoal Creek Plaza and activated his vehicle’s emergency lights and siren. Beckham’s vehicle sped off and the deputy pursued him in a high-speed chase. During the chase, the deputy saw Beckham throw several items out of the vehicle, including a black and silver case.

When the vehicle came to a stop at a dead end near 6580 Hereford Road, Beckham attempted to flee on foot. The deputy caught Beckham after a short pursuit. When Beckham and the passengers in his vehicle were secured, law enforcement officers recovered the contents that were thrown from the vehicle during the pursuit. Those items included the black and silver case, nine clear baggies that contained a total of 167 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 22 bags with methamphetamine residue, two marijuana joints, seven cell phones and drug paraphernalia. Three passengers in the vehicle confirmed that Beckham threw the case that contained methamphetamine out of the car as he was being pursued by law enforcement.

Beckham admitted that prior to his encounter with law enforcement on May 5, 2015, he had been selling approximately two pounds or more of methamphetamine per month within the past year. Beckham is conservatively responsible for distributing approximately 24 pounds of methamphetamine.

Beckham has five previous convictions for possession of methamphetamine.