Florissant Foster Parents Charged With Sexually Abusing Foster Children in St. Louis County
Credit: Florissant PD
FLORISSANT, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI — Two men who served as foster parents in Florissant are facing multiple felony charges for the alleged sexual abuse of children in their care, following a months-long investigation initiated by the St. Louis County Children’s Division. The case has shocked the community and intensified national scrutiny of foster care safety, oversight failures, and whether children placed in state custody are truly being protected.
According to law enforcement and court records, Michael Moore (63) and Berlin Baldwin (43) were charged in early 2026 with multiple counts of sodomy and statutory sodomy, stemming from alleged abuse that occurred between 2020 and 2025. The alleged crimes took place while the men were licensed foster parents caring for children in their home on Gateswood Drive in Florissant.
The victims, police say, were foster children — already among the most vulnerable populations the state is charged with protecting.
Investigation Began After Concerns Raised by Children’s Division
The investigation began in November 2025, when the St. Louis County Children’s Division alerted the Florissant Police Department to concerns of possible sexual abuse in the foster home. Detectives launched an inquiry, conducting interviews with alleged victims, family members, and others connected to the placement.
Authorities have since identified four male victims, all under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offenses, all of whom were placed in the defendants’ care as foster children.
Charges Highlight Years of Alleged Abuse — and Years of Missed Warning Signs
Court records show Moore and Baldwin face multiple felony counts tied to repeated sexual abuse over several years. Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed the exact number of charges, but each defendant faces potentially decades in prison if convicted.
The length of time over which the alleged abuse occurred has raised troubling questions:
How did these placements remain active for years?
How often were home visits conducted?
Were children interviewed privately and consistently?
Were warning signs missed—or ignored?
A Broader Pattern: Foster Care Is Not Inherently Safer
While this case is horrific on its own, it fits a documented national pattern that challenges one of the most widely repeated assumptions in child welfare: that removing children from their families automatically makes them safer.
Multiple analyses of federal and state data show that children in foster care are 2 to 10 times more likely to be abused than children living with their biological families. Research has also found that children are at higher risk of serious injury or death in foster placements, particularly in homes with inadequate oversight.
These risks are rarely communicated to judges or parents at the time of removal.
Most Children Are Taken for “Neglect” — Not Abuse
The majority of children entering foster care nationwide are not removed for physical or sexual abuse, but for “neglect” — a category so broadly defined it often includes:
Poverty
Housing instability
Lack of childcare
Temporary crises
Failure to meet subjective standards
In many cases, families need resources, not removal.
Yet removal remains the default intervention.
Once a child is taken, the state assumes responsibility — and with it, enormous power over where children live and who has access to them.
The Trauma of Removal Often Exceeds the Alleged Harm
Child development research has repeatedly shown that family separation itself is traumatic, particularly for young children. Removal can lead to:
Attachment disruption
Long-term anxiety and depression
Increased risk of behavioral issues
Heightened vulnerability to exploitation
For foster children, the trauma is often compounded by silence, fear of disbelief, and power imbalances that make reporting abuse extraordinarily difficult.
Experts following the Florissant case emphasized that male victims face unique psychological barriers, including stigma, fear of being dismissed, and grooming tactics that exploit confusion and shame.
Oversight Gaps and Institutional Blind Spots
The Florissant case has renewed scrutiny of how foster parents are screened, monitored, and re-evaluated by the Children’s Division and the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Critics point to systemic weaknesses, including:
Inconsistent home visits
High caseloads for caseworkers
Limited unannounced checks
Inadequate private interviews with foster children
Fragmented accountability between agencies
Once children are placed, oversight often becomes assumed rather than enforced.
Authorities Encourage Additional Victims to Come Forward
The Florissant Police Department has urged anyone who may have been victimized, or who has information relevant to the case, to contact law enforcement. Officials stress that delayed reporting is common in child sexual abuse cases — especially when the alleged perpetrators hold authority over housing, safety, and daily life.
What Comes Next in St. Louis County Court
Moore and Baldwin appeared before a judge in St. Louis County Court following their arrests in February 2026. No trial date has yet been announced. Prosecutors are continuing to review evidence and prepare for future proceedings.
As the case unfolds, pressure is mounting on child welfare agencies and local lawmakers to confront uncomfortable realities about foster care safety — and to reconsider whether removal-first policies truly serve children’s best interests.
Conclusion: A System That Promises Safety Must Be Held to Its Word
The Florissant foster care abuse case is not just about two defendants. It is about a system that removed children under the promise of protection — and then failed to keep that promise.
When children are taken from their families:
the state assumes responsibility
the risk does not disappear
and the consequences of failure are irreversible
Justice for the victims will be decided in court.
But accountability for the system remains an open question.
