Krenn accused of sexual contact with a student, sexual abuse

Family doctor, a resident of Battlefield, accused of offensively touching girl in his house; arrested, released
A family doctor living in Battlefield was arrested and booked into the Greene County Jail on Tuesday, April 23, after he was accused of inappropriately touching an underage girl. Dr. Louis Krenn, 48, is charged with one count of sexual contact with a student and one count of sexual abuse. The charge of sexual contact with a student was filed due to Krenn being a volunteer with an organization working with the Springfield Public Schools on a project or program at the time the alleged crime took place.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the victim, identified as a girl under the age of 18 who was from a country outside of the U.S., contacted Battlefield Police on Wednesday, April 3, and told them that Krenn offered her $50 for images of her in a bikini. She also told the police that Krenn had touched her inappropriately and that she asked him to stop, but he didn’t, and that he wanted to take pictures of her in a bathing suit.
Audio recording of conversation made
Investigators with the Missouri Department of Social Services-Children’s Division removed the victim from Krenn’s home and placed her in a home in another county. They also collected her cell phone. A recording of a nearly 17-minute conversation between a female and male was taken from the phone; Christian County Sheriff’s Office investigators emailed the recording to investigators at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
Victim said Krenn touched her while she was in bed, wouldn’t leave when she wanted to shower
During an interview, the victim said that Krenn would come into the bedroom while she was lying in bed at night and scratch her back. On one occasion, (redacted) told him not to do that, at which point Krenn, the victim said, became upset with her, so she didn’t say anything after that. However, the victim said, one night, Krenn began scratching her back but moved his hand and began touching her upper arm and then her breasts. To avoid a confrontation, the victim said, she moved a stuffed animal to block Krenn’s hand, after which time, she said, he left the room.
On other occasions, the victim said, she would tell Krenn that she was going to take a shower in the washroom which was in the basement. Krenn would continue to stay in the basement, she said, so she would have to tell him to leave. At that point, the victim said, Krenn said he felt like the victim was his own daughter, whom he’d seen unclothed in the past. She said that Krenn told her that he was a medical doctor and had seen numerous people undressed, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to see her that way.
The victim also said that Krenn would tell her about his patients sexual lives and asked her about her sexual life, including what she had done sexually. The victim said she told Krenn not to ask her about that, and he became upset.
Other incidents
At the advocacy center interview, the victim said Krenn became upset with her when she started talking to a boy at her school. She said that Krenn told her that she should not have a boyfriend, that he was jealous of the boy she was talking to and didn’t want her talking to him.
On another occasion, the victim said, Krenn made a comment about being able to see her underwear. He brought it up again the next morning, the victim said, which is when she said she recorded the conversation between her and him on her cellphone.
The victim said she contacted her parents and told them everything that was happening; what action they told her to take was redacted in the probable cause statement. However, the victim said that she confronted Krenn in front of Witness One and Witness Two. She said Krenn did not deny any of her accusations and admitted to most of them. The victim said she then contacted (redacted), who moved her to a different home.
Krenn’s arrest
According to the probable cause statement, a search warrant was executed at Krenn’s residence on April 23. Krenn was given a post-Miranda interview, during which, according to the probable cause statement, he made admissions and corroborated most of the statements made by the victim during her forensic interview.
He reportedly admitted to offering the victim $50 in exchange for a video of her using exfoliating gloves while wearing a bikini, though he said that was a joke. He also said he would take pictures of the victim while she slept and post them to social media, though he also claimed this was a longstanding joke between them.
According to the probable cause statement, he also admitted to having conversations with the victim about her sexual activities, his sexual activities and the sexual activities of his patients. He also admitted to seeing the victim’s underwear and having a conversation with her about it.
Asked about inappropriately touching the victim while she was in bed, he said he didn’t remember but it was possible that his hand “slipped” and he didn’t remember.
Court appearance
Krenn appeared in court on Thursday, April 25, for a bond hearing. He was released from the Greene County Jail after posting a $50,000 corporate surety bond.
Prior to his arrest, Krenn was a family doctor at CoxHealth in Springfield. In response to a media inquiry, Cox released this statement:
“We are aware that a CoxHealth physician was detained by law enforcement on Tuesday, April 23, for a matter unrelated to work. CoxHealth takes these situations very seriously. It is CoxHealth’s practice to place employees on leave when we are notified of investigations by law enforcement. As an organization, we prioritize safety and respect in all that we do.”