Lenient sentencing lets a Kentucky child sex crime criminal out on the streets!

Previously convicted offender faces new sex abuse charges in Lexington, records show

by Christopher leach | Tuesday, July 7, 2022 | 10:23 AM EDT | Updated: 11:23 AM EDT

John Ault, photo by Fayette County Detention Center, and is a public record.

A Lexington man who was previously convicted on two sex-related crimes has been accused of sexually abusing a girl under the age of 12, according to court documents.John Ault, 61, has been charged with four counts of sexual abuse on a victim under the age of 12 and three counts of sodomy on a victim under the age of 12, according to court records. Ault is a registered sex offender, according to state records.

I have included the link from the original, and saw the records yesterday, but they have since been deleted, as he was transferred to the Fayette County Detention Center. The indicated, however, that Mr Ault was convicted of violating KRS §531.335, Possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, and KRS §510.335, Unlawful use of electronic means originating or received within the Commonwealth to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activities — Prohibition of multiple convictions arising from single course of conduct — Solicitation as evidence of intent. Both statutes define the offenses as Class D felonies. Under KRS §532.060, Sentence of imprisonment for felony — Postincarceration supervision, the sentence for a Class D felony is not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years.

Convicted of two Class D felonies, Mr Ault was sentenced to two one year terms, to be served consecutively. Sentenced in March of 2020, he was out on probation by October of 2021. His full sentence would have seen him released in March of this year, but he could, and should, have been locked up for ten years!

I will admit it: I had to read the article several times to be certain of what the writer meant, because his structure is poor.

According to court documents, Ault sexually abused his victim for a span of nearly four years between May 2015 and May 2019. The child was between the ages of 5 and 9 when the abuse took place.

Ault was charged with four counts of sexual abuse and three counts of sodomy because that’s all the instances that the victim could remember, but it is believed there were several more incidents not disclosed, according to court documents.

Apparently, the abuse occurred before Mr Ault was charged with the two crimes for which he was convicted, and only stopped when he was arrested.

The day after the victim said the alleged abuse stopped, Ault was charged with use of electronics to procure a minor for sex after it was discovered he planned to meet up with a 12-year-old girl at a dollar store in Lincoln County. The next day Ault was charged with possessing/viewing matter portraying sexual performance by a minor, according to court records.

The story does not tell us when authorities became aware that he had (allegedly) molested the 5-to-9-year-old victim, so we cannot state that the court was aware that there was further (alleged) abuse when the sentenced were handed down. However, the conviction under KRS §510.335 demonstrates that Mr Ault was attempting to do more than just view child pornography, but to meet a child for unlawful purposes. That, by itself, should have gotten him the five-year maximum sentence.

An obvious question becomes: was Mr Ault able to abuse another minor during the seven months he was out of jail? If such happened, then the judge who sentenced him to such a short time in prison should be held accountable. Even if there was no abuse of other minor victims, the lenient sentencing, and early release by the state Parole Board, put everyone in the community in danger. The judge, possibly the prosecutors, and the Parole Board all need to be held accountable.

Of course, that will never happen, will it?

Well, with any luck, if Mr Ault really is guilty of the offenses with which he is now charged, he will spend the rest of his miserable like behind bars. From what I hear, life in prison is not exactly pleasant for child sexual abusers.