Child Rapist Receives Maximum Sentence

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Criminal Court Division obtained the maximum forty-year sentence for a man who raped a six-year-old child. In September, John P. Baskins, 24, pled guilty to Rape of a Child and Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. At a sentencing hearing today, prosecutors argued for the maximum sentence, and Judge Bob McGee agreed, ordering Baskins to serve forty years in prison without the possibility of parole.

At the September plea hearing, Assistant District Attorney Ashley McDermott explained to the Court that on March 22, 2015, the Knoxville Police Department received two E-911 calls related to the offense. At one call, officers responded to the Montgomery Village Apartments where a witness walked in on Baskins raping the six-year-old victim. At the other call, Baskins was threatening to jump off a bridge before negotiators were able to talk him off the bridge and take him into custody. Inv. Shelley Clemons obtained an arrest warrant for Baskins, seized his cell phone, and secured a search warrant to swab Baskins for DNA. The victim was forensically interviewed at ChildHelp where she explained how she was sexually assaulted by Baskins. Sgt. Scott Sheppard with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was able to recover images from Baskins’ cell phone that corroborated the victim’s account of the crime. DNA analysis conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also corroborated the account. During the sentencing hearing, Gen. McDermott elicited testimony from the victim’s mother and from a second victim who came forward after Baskins was charged in this case. The second victim stated that she was raped by Baskins when she was four years old.

“This Office has a special responsibility to aggressively prosecute those who prey upon children,” said DA Charme Allen.”Because of the hard work of the dedicated prosecutors and investigators in this case, the children of this community are safer with Baskins behind bars.”

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.