Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces Jury-Recommended Maximum Sentence for Child Rapist

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Special Prosecutions announced today that a Marshall County jury has recommended the maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole for 25 years for a convicted child rapist and persistent felony offender.

Mark V. Rapone, 51, recently of Kansas, was convicted on multiple charges, including rape first degree, for having sexual intercourse in 2008 with a four-year-old child in Marshall County. The jury also found Rapone guilty of being a persistent felony offender in the first degree and recommended the maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole for 25 years. The General Assembly amended the Kentucky Penal Code to include the new maximum sentence intended to increase prison terms for habitual offenders who prey on children.

Testimony revealed that Rapone moved to Kentucky after meeting the child's grandmother in an Internet chatroom. After residing with the grandmother, he later began residing with the child's mother. He attacked the young victim at home while her mother was at work. The jury heard from more than 10 witnesses, including a forensic pediatrician with the Purchase Area Sexual Assault Center and the child herself.

An investigator from General Conway's Office of Special Prosecutors also presented testimony detailing Rapone's extensive criminal history and prior felony convictions spanning more than 25 years in two states.

"This case demonstrates my office's firm and continued commitment to protect Kentucky children and punish those who prey on them," said General Conway. "I applaud the efforts of the Marshall County Sheriff's Office in their investigation of this horrendous crime, which allowed our prosecutors to obtain the maximum penalty."

The Attorney General's Office of Special Prosecutions handled the trial of this case at the request of Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Blankenship and Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars.

Sentencing is set for February 15, 2010, at 10 a.m. in Marshall Circuit Court.

Mark V. Rapone, 51