Former Versailles teacher and coach enters plea in child endangerment case

Mark Garber of Versailles entered an Alford Plea on Tuesday in Laclede County Circuit Court, according to a news release issued by Morgan County Prosecutor Marvin Opie.

The court proceedings were held in Lebanon on a change of venue.

An Alford Plea is a plea in criminal court in which a defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty.

Garber, a former Versailles teacher and coach, entered the plea on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor, the release said.

On March 6, Garber was originally charged with statutory sodomy in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree.

The charges stemmed from an incident in which Garber was accused of engaging in sexual activity with two girls, ages 16 and 17, according to a probable cause statement written by Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd L. Wright. The students called Garber and asked him to meet them at one of the student’s homes. There the two girls engaged in oral sex with Garber, court documents said.

Garber, a long-term substitute gym teacher at the middle school and assistant wrestling and football coach, was placed on administrative leave by the Morgan County R-II School District on March 19.

Judge Kenneth Hayden sentenced Garber to 100 days in the Laclede County Jail. Garber began serving the sentence Tuesday.