Kentucky Press News Service

FRANKFORT — Attorney General Andy Beshear and his Cyber Crimes Unit Friday announced a Franklin County jury returned a guilty verdict against a Garrard County man for seeking sex with a minor.

After a two-day trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict June 8 against Jeffrey Scott Turner, 59, of Lancaster, on one charge of prohibited use of an electronic communications system to procure a minor for sex, a Class D felony.

Beshear said in a statement that Turner will be sentenced to 3 years in prison and must complete sex offender treatment before his release. He is also required to be on the sex offender registry for 20 years.

Last year, Beshear’s Cyber Crimes Unit launched a three-week investigation aimed at Turner’s online activity. Turner was arrested June 9, 2016, by the Garrard County Sheriff’s Office. The Office of the Franklin County Commonwealth’s Attorney prosecuted the case. A formal sentence for Turner is scheduled for Sept. 8 in Franklin Circuit Court.

The work of the Cyber Crimes Unit, a division of the Department of Criminal Investigations in the Office of the Attorney General, is part of Beshear’s core mission to keep sexual predators away from Kentucky’s families and children.

“Keeping our children safe from those who seek to harm and exploit them is a top priority for my office,” Beshear said in the statement. “We would like to thank the Garrard County Sheriff Tim Davis and his team, as well as the Franklin County Commonwealth’s Attorney Larry Cleveland and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Zach Becker for handling the prosecution of the case.”

Since taking office Jan. 4, 2015, Beshear’s Cyber Crimes Unit has arrested or convicted more than 80 sexual predators.