A man accused of molesting as many as five children was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to sex offenses against one of them.
Billy Joe Stuart, 61, is a former city councilor in Jay, Oklahoma. Earlier this year, he was arrested on complaints of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl over the course of nearly two years. Investigators say he raped and sexually assaulted the girl "30 to 60 times" between June 2003 and March 2005 and made her watch pornographic videos.
When he was arrested, police say, he admitted to sexually abusing five children hundreds of times over the past 10 years. Prosecutors say he may face additional charges relating to those allegations.
For now, though, his current sentence makes it unlikely that he will ever be free from prison, whether or not he is ultimately charged and convicted of other crimes.
Earlier this week, Stuart pleaded guilty to four charges related to the molestation of the young teen girl:
- Second degree rape
- Forcible sodomy
- Lewd molestation
- Lewd acts with a child under 16
A Delaware County judge sentenced the man to 15 years in prison for second degree rape and 20 years in prison for each of the remaining felony charges. The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively, meaning the 61-year-old man is sentenced to 75 years in prison. Additionally, the judge ordered that 85 percent of his sentence must be served before the man becomes eligible for parole. Both lewd molestation and forcible sodomy are among the "85 Percent Crimes" listed in 21 O.S. §13.1.
For all charges, the judge handed down the maximum sentence allowable.
In the unlikely event that Stuart is released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
In cases involving sex crimes against minors, penalties have a broad range. For example, second degree rape, or statutory rape, has a penalty ranging from 1 to 15 years. Lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child under 16, has a penalty range of 1 to 20 years--unless the child is under 12, which severely enhances the penalty.
In determining the appropriate sentence, a judge must consider all elements of the case. In a second degree rape case, a 19-year-old charged after having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend will receive a much lighter sentence than a 50-year-old man accused of multiple sex crimes, whether through repeated incidents of molestation or through multiple victims.
Admission to molesting several children or confessing to sexually abusing a child dozens of times will never help the defendant's case. Anyone accused of a sex offense should immediately retain legal counsel to help avoid making mistakes that can cause unduly harsh punishment.
Image Credit: my_southborough
