November 27, 2017 - 3:07 PM
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A West Virginia man was sentenced to five years' probation and 50 years of supervision after his conviction for impregnating an 11-year-old girl in 2011 who was forced to get an abortion.
The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington reported that Michael Joe Adkins of Ona entered a Kennedy plea two years ago, conceding that there was enough evidence for conviction without admitting guilt.
Cabell County Judge Paul Farrell imposed the sentence Nov. 16 under a plea agreement between the prosecution and defence. Adkins will also have to register as a sex offender and undergo therapy.
Farrell got the case after Judge Alfred Ferguson rejected a plea deal without prison.
A family member told the judge that the victim, who is now 18, still lives in fear.
Defence attorney Connor Robertson said his client has been under the court's supervision since 2011, his only issues have been minor speeding tickets and the supervised period would only need to be a few years.
Assistant prosecutor Kellie Neal said Adkins already received a huge break under the plea agreement. She said previously in court that the victim's testimony and other evidence would prove Michael Adkins had sex with the girl at his home and she got pregnant.
Amanda Adkins, the defendant's estranged wife who pleaded guilty to child neglect in 2015, was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 10 years of supervised release.
___
Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, http://www.herald-dispatch.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017