Rapist Sent to Prison for Fifty-Five Years

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained convictions against a rapist who sexually assaulted two victims within twenty-four hours. Lucius Abraham Mitchell, 38, was convicted of three counts of Rape, Aggravated Kidnapping, two counts of Aggravated Burglary, and Sexual Battery. In a sentencing hearing today, Judge Scott Green sentenced Mitchell to serve fifty-five years in prison with the first forty years to be served without the possibility of parole.

In a plea hearing in April, Assistant District Attorney TaKisha Fitzgerald explained to the Court that on July 17, 2015, Mitchell broke into a residence in South Knoxville and committed a sexual battery against a sleeping woman. Mitchell fled the residence when the victim awoke during the assault. The next day, Mitchell broke into a different victim’s residence and raped her three times while the victim held her four-year-old child. Mitchell threatened to kill the victim and her child if she continued to scream. Knoxville Police Department Investigator Clayton Madison interviewed the victims and obtained DNA evidence that matched Mitchell.

“The public needs to be protected from this dangerous and violent offender,” said DA Charme Allen.”The community is safer now because of the hard work of the prosecutors and investigators involved in this case.”

At the sentencing hearing today, prosecutors argued for an enhanced sentence based on the fact that Mitchell has eight prior felony convictions from multiple jurisdictions. His criminal history includes convictions for Aggravated Assault, Burglary, and Failure to Appear.

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.