Man, 62, Found Guilty of 22 Sex Offenses Against Children
September 26, 2024

Will Serve Life in Prison with Possibility of Parole

ST. LOUIS, MO (September 26, 2024) — A jury found Craig Wilbert, 62, guilty of 22 sex offenses against children including sodomy, sexual trafficking and furnishing pornographic material.


On January 3, 2023, police received a report of a sexual assault of a 17-year-old. The victim had recently moved into Wilbert’s house in the city’s Dutchtown neighborhood where her boyfriend and his mother also lived. After she moved in, Wibert began making sexual advances toward her and sending her pornography. Wilbert offered to pay the victim for sex, and threatened to kick her, her boyfriend and his mother out of his home if the victim did not have sex with him.


Further investigation revealed that Wilbert had been sexually abusing the victim’s boyfriend starting when he was about 12 years old. Wilbert convinced the child to perform oral sex on him in exchange for money to take the bus to school, buy a cell phone and pay the phone bill.


Wilbert was convicted of first-degree child molestation in 2010 and sentenced to eight years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Because of his prior conviction, his sentence will be mandatory life in prison with the possibility of parole after a minimum amount of time set by the court, but not less than 15 years. Wilbert is scheduled to be sentenced November 18, 2024, by 22nd Circuit Court Judge Madeline Connolly.


The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorneys Sydney Beecher and Kerri Davis.


“It took tremendous courage for the repeatedly traumatized victims of this heinous sexual predator to come forward and testify at his trial,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “I commend their bravery, as well as the skill and sensitivity of our prosecutorial team that put him in prison, likely for the rest of his life.”

                        ###

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Amber Raub

Public Information Officer

St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office

rauba@stlouiscao.org

314-589-6233 (office)

314-312-9912 (cell)

More News

January 9, 2026
ST. LOUIS, MO (January 09, 2026) — On Friday, a jury found Terron Young, 34, guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon in the killing of 32-year-old Anthony Jefferson. On February 2, 2024, Jefferson was shot outside an event space in the 4700 block of Martin Luther King Drive in St. Louis. Officers responded to a report of a shooting outside the club, where Jefferson was found suffering from gunshot wounds. He later succumbed to his injuries. Through a coordinated investigation led by SLMPD Homicide Detectives, with assistance from FBI task force officers, investigators determined that it was a targeted shooting. Young and Jefferson were involved in an ongoing feud. On the night of the murder, Young drove to the location from which the fatal shots were fired while co-defendants arrived in a separate vehicle. Surveillance footage captured Young’s vehicle fleeing the area from which the fatal shots were fired immediately after the shooting and traveling toward a co-defendant’s residence. Investigators recovered spent cartridge casings from a field near the location from which the fatal shots were fired. During a search of the co-defendant’s residence, investigators recovered ammunition consistent with the cartridge casings found at the scene. “This outcome reflects the extensive work of our prosecutors, along with SLMPD Homicide Detectives and FBI task force officers, who investigated this complex case and presented it to the jury over the course of a week-long trial,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “As a result of an effective collaborative investigation by state and federal law enforcement, we were able to hold the defendant accountable for a cold-blooded targeted killing and obtain a measure of justice for the victim’s family.” Young faces mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. His sentencing will be set for a later date. Homicide Unit Deputy Chief Carolyn Chkautovich and Assistant Circuit Attorneys Nicholas Hirst and Ryan Dowd prosecuted the case. The defendant’s case number is 2422-CR00597-01.
Seal of the Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, Missouri.
January 9, 2026
A St. Louis judge on Friday sentenced Robert Johnson, 59, to 28 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for beating his wife, Nancy Johnson, to death.
Seal of the Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, featuring the state seal.
January 8, 2026
Ramon Chavez-Rodriguez, 25, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years for driving while intoxicated and causing a crash that killed 44-year-old SLMPD Officer David Lee.