Baker pleads guilty to Class A felony molestation charge
A day before his jury trial was set to begin, a Cloverdale man pled guilty on Tuesday to a Class A felony charge of child molestation.
Jeffrey L. Baker, 50, is set to be sentenced on June 11. A conviction on the charge means he will be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, but could receive as many as 50 years in prison.
"Mr. Baker was faced with two choices," said Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter. "Either plead guilty with no plea agreement or we would start picking a jury on Wednesday morning. The state would not offer a plea agreement. The judge will decide Mr. Baker's fate, which is a range of 20 to 50 years."
Baker has been lodged at the Putnam County Jail since his arrest on Dec. 5. Judge Matthew Headley set his bond at $50,000 cash only.
Baker was charged after a joint investigation by the Putnam County Department of Child Services and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department was conducted. It was alleged that Baker had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old child.
The victim said she had been molested twice by Baker.
Baker initially denied the allegations, but eventually admitted to police officers that they were true. Baker told officers "he had, on several occasions, committed sexual acts of a criminal nature (against the victim)," court records said.
Baker told police he had a problem, that he had been dealing with it for several years and that he needed help, court documents said.
Bookwalter's concern, however, is for the victim.
"It's my hope that the victim, who is now 14, with the help of a loving family and counseling, can grow up and have a normal life in spite of these unspeakable acts that Mr. Baker repeatedly committed on her," he said.