Photo: Jerry Studdard
An Ozark County Circuit Court jury has found a Wasola resident guilty of two counts of statutory sodomy of a child in the first degree.
The Ozark County Times reports Jerry Studdard was found guilty earlier this month of subjecting a female victim to deviate sexual intercourse in 2007 when she was 11 and again in 2008 when she was 12.
Studdard will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
He was released on his existing bond with the condition that he’s supervised by Court Probationary Services until his sentencing hearing, scheduled for Dec. 22.
Circuit Judge Craig Carter presided over the trial. Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney John Garrabrant served as the prosecutor, and Stuart Paul Huffman of Springfield was Studdard’s defense attorney.
Jury selection was held at the Gainesville Church of Christ to allow the potential jurors to social distance for covid awareness, as much as possible. Before the pandemic, jury selection was traditionally held in the upstairs courtroom in the courthouse.
The jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict in two hours.
The Times reports Studdard requested jury sentencing, an uncommon process in which the jury makes a recommendation to the judge of what sentence should be imposed. Most trials usually include judge sentencing.
After finding Studdard guilty of the two counts, the jury took 15 minutes to make a recommendation on punishment.
The jury recommended a 10-year prison sentence on the first count and a five-year prison sentence on the second count. Both are the lowest possible sentences available for the convictions. The two charges have a possible range of punishment of up to life imprisonment
Carter ordered a sentencing assessment report, which will be compiled by the Department of Probation and Parole. The report provides judges and others involved with sentencing and corrections useful information about the offender, the offender’s risk of re-offending, and treatment programs and supervision options available in the community and in prison.
Garrabrant says the trial was held in the upstairs courtroom in the Ozark County Courthouse, and, instead of sitting in the jurors box, the jury was spaced around the gallery where court observers usually are seated.
The upstairs level of the courthouse was closed to the public. To ensure that the trial was still a public trial, it was livestreamed.
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