Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A convicted child-molester was sentenced to 80 years in prison today in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
Edward Jackson, 40, was given the maximum sentence for child molesting, a Class A felony, and for being a habitual offender.
A jury found Jackson guilty earlier this month of molesting a 12-year-old girl while he lived with her mother for five to seven years.
In the second part of the trial, the jury convicted Jackson of being a habitual offender since he was found guilty of child molesting in 1979 and again in 1982. He served four years in prison for the second conviction.
Judge Rex Reed said one of the aggravating factors he considered in the sentence was the fact the victim was a child under 12 years old. Reed also said he considered Jackson's prior criminal history, and agreed with a probation officer's assessment that there were no mitigating factors to consider.
Jackson was sentenced to the presumptive term of 30 years in prison for the Class A felony to which Reed added 20 years for the aggravating factors. Reed then added the enhancement of 30 years for Jackson being a habitual offender, bringing the total to 80 years.
Jackson said he plans to appeal the conviction.
"It was not unexpected," Kosciusko County prosecutor David Kolbe said of the sentence. "It was what we asked for ... it was justified here."
The jury found Jackson guilty after hearing testimony from the victim herself, as well as a doctor who provided evidence she had possibly been molested.
The Class A felony conviction is in the highest felony bracket, on the same level as murder.
