Steve McDermit
Introduction
Steve McDermit is a former police officer in Plattsburg, Missouri, who was fired from the city’s police department in October 2026 after being charged with making obscene or indecent commercial messages — voice messages, according to a probable cause statement, in which he described sexual acts involving two infants while claiming to be alone with them in bed. The 41-year-old was charged in Buchanan County Circuit Court on Friday, October 16, and the city announced his termination the following day. He is being held without bond.
Background Information
McDermit served as an officer with the Plattsburg Police Department, a small department serving the county seat of Clinton County, north of Kansas City. The charges were filed in Buchanan County Circuit Court, whose detention center booked him just after 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, the day before the charge was formally issued. The case that led to his arrest by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office remains under investigation.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, presumption of innocence. McDermit faces a criminal charge; the allegations come from a probable cause statement, no conviction has been entered, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
According to the probable cause statement, just before 12:55 a.m. on Wednesday, McDermit left voice messages on a commercial sex chatline describing sexual acts involving two girls — ages 6 months and 1 year — while claiming to be alone with them in bed. Investigators allege that just before 3 a.m. that same morning, he left two additional messages from the same number repeating his claims that he was in bed with the two children and intended to commit sexual acts.
The charge — making obscene or indecent commercial messages — was issued in Buchanan County Circuit Court on Friday, October 16, 2026. Buchanan County Detention Center records show McDermit was booked the evening before, just after 7 p.m. Thursday, and he is being held without bond. The city of Plattsburg announced on Saturday, October 17 that the employment of former Officer Steve McDermit was terminated as of the previous day.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The city moved from charge to termination inside 24 hours. “We have no further comment at this time regarding his termination,” a city spokesperson said in the Saturday announcement — a two-line statement that nonetheless made clear the department would not carry an officer facing allegations of this nature. The case description — a serving officer allegedly describing sexual acts with infants on a commercial sex line — drew immediate local coverage across the Kansas City and St. Joseph media markets, with both KCTV5 and KFVS12 carrying the city’s termination announcement and the probable cause account.
Current Status
McDermit is charged with making obscene or indecent commercial messages in Buchanan County Circuit Court and is being held without bond at the Buchanan County Detention Center. His employment with the City of Plattsburg ended October 16, 2026. The underlying case is still under investigation, no trial date appears in the available record, and prosecutors have not said whether additional charges are possible.
Impact on Their Career/Life
A police career in a small Missouri town ended the same week the charge was filed, and the allegations — infant victims, described in his own alleged voice messages — place McDermit among the most serious officer-misconduct cases the region has seen. Beyond the criminal docket, the termination means he loses the position, and any future law-enforcement certification in Missouri will have to answer for a fired-officer record involving a charge of this kind. The detention record and the city’s announcement ensure the case follows him independently of the court’s outcome.