Man sentenced for child molest

0

A Jackson County man convicted of taking sexually explicit photos of a 9-year-old girl in his home in 2015 recently was sentenced in federal court to 28 years in prison.

Robert Dale Jenkins, 52, of Seymour, received that sentence from Judge Sarah Evans Barker with the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, in Indianapolis.

Jenkins also is scheduled to stand trial at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 21 in Jackson Circuit Court on a Level 4 felony charge of child molesting and a Level 5 felony charge of child exploitation related to the same investigation, Jackson County Prosecutor AmyMarie Travis said Wednesday morning.

He was arrested in March 2015.

The incident that led to Jenkins’ conviction occurred in March 2015, when the girl’s mother discovered five sexually explicit images of the child on Jenkins’ cellphone, according to a news release from U.S. District Attorney Josh J. Minkler.

The images appeared to have been taken in Jenkins’ home. The victim’s mother took the phone and reported the incident to the Seymour Police Department.

Further forensic analysis was conducted on the cellphone, and additional sexually explicit images of the victim were discovered.

“Protecting innocent children from adult predators remains one of the highest priorities in this office,” Minkler said.

“Those who abuse our most vulnerable victims will be held strictly accountable.”

This case was investigated by the FBI, Indiana State Police, Travis and the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Seymour Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Shepard, who prosecuted the case for the government, said Jenkins must serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison term.

Jenkins also was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor and child molestation in Jackson County in 2001 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

No posts to display