A formal sentencing hearing scheduled for 1pm today in Cole County Circuit Court, for 25-year-old Ryan Swillum of California. He faces a mandatory life sentence, after he pleaded guilty to first-degree statutory sodomy of a child under 12, and admitted to being a predatory sexual offender.

The only question is to whether Swillum will be eligible for parole. Prosecutors said the abuse in this case, took place between August 2018 and May 2020 in Jefferson City.

Swillum was charged in February 2023 after the victim told their parents, who immediately contacted law enforcement.