PULASKI, TN — A Giles County man convicted of multiple child sex offenses has been sentenced to 60 years in prison, according to Brent Cooper, district attorney general for Tennessee’s 22nd Judicial District.
Circuit Judge Julie Heffington sentenced 61-year-old Steven Joe Townsend earlier this week. Cooper said Townsend must serve 100% of the sentence and will not become eligible for release until he is approximately 120 years old.
The sentence follows Townsend’s conviction by a Giles County jury on four counts of rape of a child, one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child and one count of incest.
Jurors returned the guilty verdict after hearing four days of testimony and evidence presented by Assistant District Attorneys Becky Sue Parsons and Jenni Smith.
The lead investigator was Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Shane Hunter, who worked for the Giles County Sheriff’s Department when the offenses occurred.
Judge Heffington also presided over Townsend’s trial.
