On October 13th, after multiple days of trial, a Lincoln County Jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Mark Hunt unanimously guilty of sexually abusing his 15 year old step daughter on at least 3 separate occasions. On a recorded jail call, Hunt told a family member that he sexually abused the child because, "you dangle a carrot in front of an a** and they're gonna go for it." Hunt was sentenced on November 4th by Judge Amanda Benjamin.
During the hearing, the child victim looked her abuser in the eyes and told him how his abuse has impacted her. She said, "I will be praying for you because God told me to forgive you and I do forgive you, but I will never forget what you have done to me." This case was tried by District Attorney Lanee Danforth, who said, "No sentence will undo the damage Hunt has done, but the victim deserves justice and public safety requires the court to impose the maximum sentence allowed under the law."
Judge Benjamin sentenced Hunt to 122 months (10 years and 2 months) in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under the law. Hunt is required to register as a sex offender. He will be on post prison supervision for a period of 10 years after his release from prison, and he will be subject to further sanctions if he violates his parole. The DA's Office thanked the jury for their time as well as the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office for their investigation in this case.
