Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces Eight Year Prison Sentence For Teacher Who Had Sexual Relations With 13-Year-Old Student

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Special Prosecutions today announced the successful conclusion of the prosecution of a former Bullitt County teacher and coach who had repeated sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old student in the late 1990s.

Bullitt Circuit Judge Rodney Burress today sentenced Larry Brent Childress, 41, to eight years in prison, as per the recommendation of the Attorney General’s special prosecutor. While Childress was technically eligible for probation, prosecutors for the Attorney General’s office pointed out to the court that he had been untruthful about the full extent of his relationship with a former student and that probation would unduly depreciate the seriousness of the offense committed by a teacher and coach against a student.

“The prosecution of crimes against children is a top priority of my administration,” said General Conway. “The abuse of trust involved in such a crime by a teacher should not be tolerated. Neither the passage of time, nor the evasion by the offender prevented us from building this case.”

In late 2008, the victim, now a parent of school-age children herself, came forward to work with detectives from Kentucky State Police Post 4, investigators from the Office of the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations and prosecutors from the Attorney General’s office to build evidence of a nearly four-year period of unlawful sexual activity. The Attorney General’s Office of Victim Advocacy also provided assistance and support to the victim.

“We were pleased to be able to work with all of the state and local law enforcement agencies involved to bring this difficult, but important, case to a successful conclusion,” said General Conway.

“Any time that we can work to prevent the victimization of our children we are moving in the right direction,” said Kentucky State Police spokesman David Jude.  “This case illustrates that no matter the time frame, we remain dedicated to bringing those who prey on innocent victims to justice.”

Childress was charged with two counts each of rape third degree and sodomy third degree in November 2008. He pled guilty to those charges on March 11, 2009.