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Man Gets Prison Time for Sex Crimes
A Knoxville man didn't get nearly as much time in prison as prosecutors wanted for a series of sexual assault he's accused of committing on family members.

57 year old Ernest Powell Senior was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison for charges of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation he was arrested on last year, and convicted of in what's called a stipulated bench trial in June.

Powell is accused of fondling and sexually assaulting several family members and others over decades, according to Assistant State's Attorney Elisa Tanner, but was only charged in three of the cases.

Testimony at the trial proved at least one of the victims was younger than the age of 12, when one of the incidents took place with her around 2009. But Tanner says because the document seemed to indicate the victim was instead almost 13, that's what the sentencing was partially based on.

Judge Scott Shipplett denied Tanner's request for extended term sentences, saying the law doesn't necessarily allow for it, meaning, decades in prison, and consecutive instead of concurrent prison sentences, couldn't be the case.

Shipplett said he'd rather give a harsher sentence, but he can't.

Powell was given credit for 582 days served in the Knox County Jail.
10 25 12 by Newsroom
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