Repeat sex offender in Platte County found guilty of rape of young teen: prosecutor
A repeat sex offender in Platte County was found guilty after a three-day trial Wednesday on charges he raped a 14-year-old girl multiple times between 2016 and 2017.
Joseph E. Ginn was found guilty by a jury of second degree statutory rape, two counts of second degree statutory sodomy and second degree child molestation, according to a news release from Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.
The victim told a relative in August 2017 that the abuse accured multiple times between 2016 and 2017, and later told a therapist who called the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect hotline. The Missouri Children’s Division and Kansas City police began an investigation and learned that Ginn had lived with the victim at one time.
Ginn was previously incarcerated for a year after being found guilty of second degree child molestation and failed to register as a sex offender multiple times, according to court documents.
“This man molested a 12-year-old girl in Andrew County in 2002. And he did it again in Platte County,” Zahnd said in a release. “He now needs the maximum sentence so he won’t be able to do it again for decades.”
The victim provided a child forensic interview, which in Missouri is not admissible in trial since she was over 14-years-old.
“Child sexual abuse almost always occurs in the dark. Child forensic interviews are specifically designed to shine the bright light of truth on those dark crimes. Those interviews should be admissible for children of any age in Missouri, just like they are in other states,” Zahnd said.
Because Ginn was a prior offender, Judge Ann Hansbrough is the sole sentencing authority, according to the release. He faces up to 22 years in prison.
