Prospect man sentenced to 5 years in prison for sexual contact with a child

For the second time in two decades, a Marion County man has been sentenced to prison for engaging in sexual contact with a child.

Randal Hunt, age 63, Prospect, pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, on Monday in Marion County Common Pleas Court. Judge Warren T. Edwards then sentenced Hunt to five years in prison, the maximum penalty for the offense allowed by Ohio law.

Hunt's sentence includes a five-year period of post-release control after his prison term is completed. He has been classified as a Tier 2 sex offender and will be required to register as such in the county where he resides upon completion of his prison term.

Following the hearing on Monday, Hunt was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion. He will be held there until he is transferred to the Correctional Reception Center at Orient in Ross County where he will be processed into the state prison system.

The Marion County grand jury originally indicted Hunt on one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, and one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor, a fourth-degree felony, on Sept. 14, 2022. Per terms of the plea agreement Hunt reached with Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan, the pandering obscenity involving a minor charge was dismissed.

According to a press release issued Sept. 28, 2022, by the Marion County Sheriff's Office, the Marion Police Department began investigating a report of an alleged sexual offense involving a minor female, but in the course of investigation determined that the alleged incident occurred outside of the police department's jurisdiction.

The sheriff's office then assumed responsibility for the investigation and arrested Hunt on suspicion of gross sexual imposition. He was initially incarcerated at the Multi-County Correctional Center, but later posted bond and was released, according to online records from the Marion Municipal Court.

According to the sheriff's office press release, further investigation resulted in additional victims coming forward to report about their interactions with Hunt.

In the transcript of an affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrant for Hunt, Det. Aaron Marburger of the Marion County Sheriff's Office stated that the victim, an 11-year-old girl, reported to investigators that on or about Sept. 8, 2022, Hunt drove her to a vacant residence in the county where he proceeded to touch her in a sexual manner. The victim described how Hunt touched her as well as the location where the incident occurred. Investigators were then able to find the residence based on her description.

The girl is the daughter of a tenant who was renting a residential property from Hunt at the time of the incident, according to court records.

According to Marion County Common Pleas Court records, Hunt previously served about 10 months in prison in 2000 and 2001 after he was found guilty of gross sexual imposition, illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, and furnishing alcohol to a minor. He was granted judicial release in August 2001 and sentenced to a four-year period of community control. He was required to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years following his release from prison at that time.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Prospect man sentenced to prison for sexual contact with a child