MATTHEW JAMES LEE MCCORD, Defendant- Missouri Cases

Matthew James Lee McCord, a registered sex offender, was found guilty by the trial court of violating section 566.147, RSMo 2016, by residing within 1,000 feet of Carver Middle School. On appeal, McCord argued that the rule of lenity required reversal because the statute's distance measurement was ambiguous, contending it should be measured building-to-building rather than property line-to-property line. The Southern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the statute unambiguously requires measurement from property line to property line to create a buffer zone for children.