Branson special education teaching assistant sent to prison

A former Branson teaching assistant who primarily worked with young students, many with special needs, pleaded guilty this week to felony child molestation.

Larry Jay Pemberton, 59, of Ozark, was sentenced to seven years in prison as part of a plea agreement.

He was sentenced to the Sex Offender Assessment Unit and will have to register as a sex offender. The felony carried a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Pemberton was charged earlier this year for incidents involving two Branson students, who were both 8 years old at the time. As part of the plea agreement, a charge of first-degree statutory sodomy was dropped.

He is currently in the Taney County Jail.

Court records show Pemberton worked with special needs students at the Cedar Ridge Elementary in Branson during the 2013-14 school year, when the incidents occurred.

According to a probable cause statement, Pemberton admitted to touching the first boy's genitals in an employee restroom. The mother of the boy told police she noticed her son inserting objects into his underwear around this time.

The statement says the second 8-year-old boy, who has limited verbal skills, told police that Pemberton touched his "body," which he indicated by pointing to the genitals on an anatomically correct drawing of a male.

The statement says Pemberton took the boys to the restroom "on a regular basis."

An online licensing database maintained by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Second Education showed Pemberton worked at multiple Branson schools over a 10-year period. It is unclear whether he worked in other Missouri districts.

After Pemberton's arrest, Branson school officials ended his employment and agreed to cooperate fully with the investigation.