New organization with Drexel ties forges Missouri’s Child Witness Protection Act

Article, with few provisions, courtesy of the Current Wave, a newspaper publication, in Eminence, MO.
hanks to the locally founded Parents Against Child Abuse (PACA), Missouri now has a Child Witness Protection Act, which was passed by state legislators in their 2009 session and signed into law by Governor Jay Nixon last summer.
PACA was started by Eminence residents Donna and Brian Shelton after their daughter was one of the victims and subsequent witnesses in the trial of a Ripley County man convicted of child molestation in 2008. Brian is a Missouri State Water Patrolman and the Shelton’s were living in Ripley County when the crimes were committed.
Distraught from the ordeal that the judicial process and trial put their daughter through, Brian and Donna started the non-profit organization to educate people about child abuse and to support victims as well. At their urging, State Representative Bob Dixon sponsored the Child Witness Protection bill and 147th District Representative J. C. Kuessner co-sponsored the legislation. Brian began making public speaking appearances, lobbying legislators and successfully seeking support for the bill. He testified before both the Missouri House and Senate. 
The Shelton’s and PACA’s efforts payed off with the passage of the Child Witness Protection Act by a vote of 155–2 on April 9, 2009 and Nixon’s.....
Read the complete story in the January 7th edition.
PHOTO: New Law - Missouri now has a Child Witness Protection Act, thanks to recent legislation and the efforts of Parents Against Child Abuse (PACA) and its founders Donna and Brian Shelton. On hand for the Governor’s signing of the law in July were, L to R: the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bob Dixon, Donna Shelton, Gov. Jay Nixon, Peyton Shelton and Brian Shelton. Photo courtesy of the Current Wave, a newspaper publication, in Eminence, MO.