Babysitter gets 'basically probation' in child molestation
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, 23, a 10-year sentence, but then Holden 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 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."
The mother said every aspect of her son's life has changed — his grades dropped, he has mood swings, his personality has changed and he has nightmares.
The boy's emotional father said anytime he is not with his son, he is wracked with fear that someone could be preying on his son.
"It's torture to live with these thoughts," he said.
In making his sentencing recommendation, Dee Wampler, Presley's attorney, said the molestation consisted of two occasions lasting less than 30 seconds each — one involving skin-on-clothing contact and one involving skin-on-skin contact.
Wampler described Presley as a 23-year-old with no prior criminal record who also had been molested as child — probably worse than Presley molested his victim.
The judge drew a comparison between Presley and his victim, calling it "striking."
Presley also spoke at his sentencing.
"I am incredibly disappointed in myself and sorry for my actions. There is no excuse," he said. "I am doing everything in my power to heal and get better."
Chris Hoeman, the prosecuting attorney, said he was disappointed in the sentence.
"When someone fondles a child, I think they should go to prison," said Hoeman.
Last year, a spokesperson at the Springfield (Mo.) YMCA said, Presley had already been fired before he was charged, and there were no allegations that Presley molested children at the YMCA — where he worked in aquatics and in the Kid Zone child care area.
According to a probable cause statement, a boy who Presley had been babysitting told a forensic interviewer that Presley kept him up late and touched him on the genitals two times during the span of less than a year.
The boy said after the second incident he tried to call his mother from the house phone, but once Presley saw him, Presley grabbed the phone and told the boy to go to bed, the statement says.
Contributing: Harrison Keegan, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. Follow Giacomo Bologna on Twitter: @GBolognaNL