From 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler Judicial District -
KENNEDY RECEIVES MAXIMUM SENTENCE On September 23, 2019, Campbell County Criminal Court Judge E. Shayne Sexton presided over the sentencing hearing for Michael Joseph Kennedy, who previously had entered guilty pleas to his indicted charges without an agreement as to the manner of service of his sentence. In the hearing, Michael Joseph Kennedy was sentenced to serve twelve (12) years in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Corrections for Aggravated Statutory Rape and Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure.
The victim, now nineteen (19) years of age, testified about the traumatic impact of the sexual abuse during the sentencing hearing. At the conclusion of the proof, Judge Sexton emphatically sentenced the defendant to the “maximum allowed by law.”
The charges against Michael Joseph Kennedy were investigated by the Jellico Police Department with the assistance of the Department of Children’s Services and the Campbell County Children’s Center. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney General Lindsey Cadle.