An Owensboro man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday for charges related to sexual activity with a minor.
Travis S. Jones, 31, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in Daviess Circuit Court in June to two counts of using a minor in a sexual performance, two counts of distributing obscene matter to minors, rape in the second degree, sodomy in the second degree, sexual abuse in the first degree and prohibited use of electronic computer system to procure a minor/peace officer.
A sex offender registration form that Jones was required to fill out Wednesday reveals that these felonies were committed between Feb. 12, 2018 and March 13, 2018. Jones was 30 years old at the time.
“Travis Jones engaged in deviant sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female, engaged in sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old, and subjected a 13-year-old to sexual contact, and knowingly used a communications system for the purpose of procuring the use of a minor in commercial sexual activity,” the form states.
Documents also show that Jones employed, consented to, authorized or induced a 13-year-old to engage in a sexual performance depicted in a video on two occasions and distributed obscene matter to a minor. These events happened in early March 2018.
Because Jones participated in deviant sexual performances with a minor, the Commonwealth Attorney’s office asked Judge Joseph Castlen to require Jones to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, due to the violence he inflicted upon the juvenile.
According to Jones’ defense attorney, Patrick Flaherty, a second case involving similar activities performed by Jones is currently pending in Evansville. Flaherty said the case has been pending for two years, and that he plans to speak with Jones’ attorney in Evansville about the situation as his client will relocate to a state penitentiary in the near future.
This second case involving a minor was transferred to federal court for prosecution. The second juvenile victim was discovered during the initial investigation, when OPD was notified of an adult male who’d been communicating with a juvenile less than 16 years old via social media.
“Information in that investigation led to the opening of a second juvenile complaint after it was determined that a different juvenile less than 16 years old was communicating with the listed suspect in the first case,” a Kentucky Incident Based Reporting System (KYIBRS) report states.
OPD Detectives uncovered messages between Jones and the two juveniles. Jones had been using the name “Prince King” on Facebook as he participated in sexually explicit conversations with juveniles and sent and received sexually explicit photos as well.
After OPD discovered “Prince King” to be Jones, a search warrant was issued, allowing officers to confiscate his electronic devices. During the investigation, police also discovered Jones had been operating under the name Ella Paisley in order to communicate with the two juvenile females.
Jones originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed his plea to guilty on June 26, 2019. Upon his release from prison, Jones will be required to attend regular meetings with a parole/probation officer and will be registered as a sex offender for life.
