SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A former Missouri YMCA employee and youth minister-in-training was sentenced to 30 days in jail for molesting an 8-year-old boy in 2014 while babysitting him.
Circuit Judge Calvin Holden initially gave Joseph Presley a 10-year sentence, but then suspended the sentence.
The prosecuting attorney wanted a seven- to eight-year prison sentence.
Holden explained his decision to give Presley "basically probation," pointing out that Presley, 23, sought counseling after the molestation was brought to light. Presley will have to register as a sex offender under Missouri law for the rest of his life.
Presley pleaded guilty in June to one count of first-degree child molestation. Police said he placed his hand down the boy's pants twice.
During Presley's sentencing Friday, his victim, now 9, told the judge people can change, but Presley should "definitely" go to jail.
The boy's parents also testified, saying the molestation of their son has shattered their trust in any other adult — no matter how upstanding or well-meaning they are.
The mother said they knew Presley for five years. She called him the "ultimate con-man."
She said Presley picked a night when he knew her son would be vulnerable to first molest him. It happened on the day of his grandmother's funeral, the boy's mother said. The funeral was out-of-state and Presley was babysitting.
"Do not be fooled by Joseph Presley."
https://www.12news.com/news/babysitter-gets-basically-probation-for-molesting-boy/305168778
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