How Could You? Hall of Shame-Missouri Baptist Home Worker, Lawanna Wilson and Tanner Wilson

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Mt. Vernon, Missouri, Missouri Baptist Home worker, Lawanna Wilson, “is charged with sex trafficking some of the teen girls she was responsible for while working for a state foster care facility.

Lawanna Wilson is charged with two counts of child sex trafficking and five counts of child endangerment. The Lawrence County Sheriff’s office submitted these charges to the prosecutor’s office, against Wilson and her son, Tanner Wilson, back in 2023 after detectives completed their investigation.

Lawanna Wilson worked for the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home in Mt. Vernon in 2023 and according to investigators — she would bring teenage girls to her house and leave them alone with her son.

Tanner Wilson was charged in 2023 for sexually assaulting one of the teens his mother brought home. During this same time, he was awaiting trial on multiple child sex crimes including rape, attempted rape, sexual abuse, and child abuse and neglect.

In one of the cases, Tanner pleaded guilty to messaging an 8-year-old girl through Snapchat, offering to send her a picture of his penis. He is now serving time after pleading guilty to those charges. However, he was out on bond and wearing an ankle monitor in 2023 when Lawanna is accused of sex trafficking the girls.

KSN reached out to Missouri Baptist Children’s Home by email today to find out if Lawanna Wilson is still employed with the agency but has not heard back.

She’s currently being held in the Lawrence County jail without bail. There is no word about why the charges were just filed, two years after the investigation was completed.”

Missouri woman charged with trafficking foster kids in her care
[Fox 4KC 10/23/25 by Bobbie Pottorff]

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