Prison inmate sentenced to 35 years for attempted rape

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read
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Mar. 12—ANDERSON — A former inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility has been sentenced to 35 years on a charge of attempted rape of a female employee.

John Thompson, 23, was incarcerated at the time of the offense on a 2016 conviction in Marion County on a charge of rape and confinement.

He was sentenced on that crime to 35 years and is scheduled for release in 2040.

Thompson entered guilty pleas in Madison Circuit Court Division 6 last month to charges of attempted rape and criminal confinement.

Judge Mark Dudley sentenced Thompson Friday to 35 years on the attempted rape charge and 14 years on the criminal confinement charge to be served concurrently.

Dudley denied a request from Thompson to withdraw his guilty pleas.

In dismissing the request to withdrawn the guilty pleas, Dudley said Thompson admitted to the allegations of the crime and didn't raise an insanity defense at the time.

Deputy Prosecutor Matt Savage objected to the withdrawal of the guilty pleas by Thompson.

Savage said in requesting a 38 year sentence that Thompson has a long criminal history.

"He's already serving a long sentence which didn't stop his behavior," he said. "He tried to commit the same crime that he was convicted of in the past."

Savage said Thompson is preying on Department of Correction employees.

"Society took measures to protect the public," he said. "DOC employees continue to be at risk."

Defense attorney Brandon Townsend asked for leniency in requesting a 25-year sentence.

According to the probable cause affidavit by Sean Wyatt, an investigator with the state Department of Correction, the incident took place Nov. 19, 2020, when Thompson used an institutional weapon to try to rape a mental health professional.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.