A federal judge in Mobile rejected prosecution calls for a life sentence today for a convicted sex offender, but the prison term will be so long that the defendant may well die in prison anyway.
Citing a prior sexual offense against a teenager, Chief U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade sentenced Richard Brooks Nelson to three months shy of 34 years for enticement plus an additional 10 years for committing a sex offense while a registered sex offender -- for a total of 43 years and 9 months.
"If he does ever get out, he'll be well into his 80s by then," Granade said.
Defense attorney Greg Hughes said that by then, his client -- who turns 41 in a little more than a week -- will not be a threat to anyone. "That is ample time enough," he said.
A jury in July took about 45 minutes to convict Nelson of sending text messages to an 11-year-old girl in an effort to lure her for a sexual liaison. The girl -- an acquaintance of another little girl that Nelson had met at his trailer park in Theodore -- showed the messages to her mother.
After that, an undercover U.S. Secret Service agent pretended to be the girl and continued trading text messages with Nelson in August 2007. As the messages grew more graphic, Nelson became more insistent that they talk over the telephone.
"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte
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