Loyal man gets prison time for sexual assault
A 51-year-old Loyal man will spend the next five years in state prison and be on extended supervision for 10 years beyond that for having alleged sexual contact with an 11- or 12-year old victim several years ago.
Joseph J. Kropp was sentenced in Clark County Circuit Court on March 15 for allegedly having sexual contact with a minor in his Loyal-area home in 2018. He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years of prison time and eight years of extended supervision on a count of child enticement/ sexual activity, and an additional 1 1/2 years of prison time and two years of extended supervision for exposing a child to harmful descriptions. He was also found guilty of fourth-degree sexual assault and placed on probation for 12 months, and a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a person under the age of 13 was dismissed but readin to the court record. He is also to pay $1,178 in court assessments as well as possible psychiatric treatment costs for the victim.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Kropp in February 2019, an alleged victim told authorities that Kropp had asked her to go into a bedroom and take off her nightgown so he could give her a massage. This happended when the victim was 11 or 12 years old. The victim told officers she refused his request.
On another occasion about a year later, the victim said she had been sitting on a couch with Kropp when he massaged her thighs over her clothing. The same thing happened the following night, according to the victim’s statement. She said Kropp’s touching became more aggressive before she told him to stop.
When questioned by police, Kropp admitted to touching the victim, but said it was “just a massage,” according to the complaint. He also said the first incident involving the request to go into a bedroom was only for a massage. Kropp was also accused by a separate older victim of spanking her while her pants were down. Kropp told officers it was for disciplinary reasons.
The victim also told investigators that Kropp has pornography on his computer and that a younger child had been exposed to it while searching for something else.
