Day care owner’s son to spend 9 years in prison for sex crimes involving children

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. (KCTV) - A man will spend nine years in prison after pleading guilty to committing sex crimes involving children, which took place at a day care facility in Lee’s Summit.

After pleading guilty to three charges, Joseph Hammerly received three sentences. Because they are set to run concurrently, he will serve nine years. However, he received four years for each of two counts of sexual misconduct involving a child under 15. The nine-year sentence was for statutory sodomy. . . of a person less than 14 years of age.

According to KCTV5′s previous reporting, Joseph Hammerly is the son of the woman who owned the Little Learners day care facility in Lee’s Summit. He was 18 years old when he was charged.

The father of one girl who was molested spoke to KCTV5 News in 2021. He said that a Little Learners staff member called his wife in 2019, saying that their daughter had told them in great detail about how a teacher - the owner’s son - had molested her in the bathrooms. The girl was 5 years old at the time.

Our reporting states, “The staff member also reported it to the owner, who told them to ‘redirect [the girl] and tell her we don’t talk like that.’”

The owner, Emily Hammerly, was subsequently charged for failing to report her son to police or the child abuse hotline. Her child endangerment case is still working its way through the legal system.

Her jury trial is set to begin on Dec. 5.

Previous coverage:

Judge rejects plea deal in Lee’s Summit day care case

Local father angry about potential plea deal for Lee’s Summit day care owner