Carl Junction woman takes plea deal in statutory rape case
Aug. 10—A 39-year-old woman pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Monday in a statutory rape case involving an underage boy.
Francesca L. Mathis, of Carl Junction, pleaded guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to an amended count of fourth-degree child molestation in a plea deal in a case in which she had been facing a more serious offense of second-degree statutory rape.
Judge Dean Dankelson delayed formal acceptance or rejection of the plea agreement and ordered a sentencing assessment of Mathis. The judge set the defendant's sentencing hearing for Sept. 27.
Mathis, who had been scheduled to go to trial Aug. 17, was charged with having sexual relations with a 16-year-old boy after Jasper County sheriff's deputies caught her in bed with the victim while taking a burglary suspect into custody Dec. 20, 2019, at a Carl Junction residence.
The owner of the residence let deputies inside to contact the suspect, who was in the shower of a bathroom. In detaining the suspect, they determined that Mathis had been in bed with the boy.
Second-degree statutory rape carries a punishment range of up to seven years in prison. The Class E felony count in her plea agreement carries up to four years.
