Lexington County man who sexually assaulted 11-year-old at gunpoint sentenced

A Lexington County truck driver was sentenced to 55 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sex charges, including sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint.

Richard Boatwright, 49, who was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, entered a guilty plea to all charges Tuesday, according to a press release from Solicitor Donnie Myers’ office.

He received the maximum penalty for the charges, with Judge R. Knox McMahon sentencing him to 55 years in prison.

The plea followed testimony from the victim, who is now 15, in pre-trial court proceedings. The victim said during her testimony that she was afraid to disclose the abuse for months after Boatwright threatened her.

Boatwright was a commercial truck driver in 2013 when the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Unit began investigating reports in Kentucky and Texas that he had sexually assaulted a child. In 2014, the department did a forensic analysis of Boatwright’s computer and found child pornography in a file labeled “my eyes only.”

The images included sexually explicit images of a 10-year-old child Boatwright had access to in Kentucky and also images of the child when she was 11 in Texas.

Officials said Boatwright sexually assaulted the same child at gunpoint in Lexington County when she was 11.

During the sentencing hearing, Boatwright admitted guilt and stated that his life became “out of control.”

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Lexington County man who sexually assaulted 11-year-old at gunpoint sentenced."