35-year-old McCracken County woman charged with raping 17-year-old boy
A McCracken County woman charged with third-degree rape under a consent statute signed into law earlier this year is the first such case in the county, according to deputies.
Crystal Ashford-Payne, 35, admitted to being “intimately involved” with a 17-year-old male, and also had nude images of him on her cell phone, according to the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department.
The statute, dubbed “Jenna’s Law,” prohibits anyone at least 28 years old from having sexual intercourse with a person 16 or 17 years old.
The statute, which took effect in July, defines intercourse between such parties as third-degree rape.
Generally, 16 is the age of consent in Kentucky, though the limit rises to 18 if one of the parties is in a position of trust or authority over the other.
Detective Sarah Martin said Ashford-Payne’s arrest marks a new era in how the county deals with May-December relationships when one isn’t even old enough to vote.
“That’s not a normal relationship,” she said, calling such pairings “just really inappropriate.”
Martin said it’s important to educate the public about the new law, but that ignorance of the law doesn’t excuse morally questionable behavior.
“At seventeen, you’re not old enough to think right,” she said.
Detectives discovered during the investigation that Ashford-Payne was attempting to become the teen’s guardian and referred to him as her child.
A search of Ashford-Payne’s residence turned up methamphetamine and marijuana, which deputies alleged she had provided to the teen.
In addition to the rape charge, Ashford-Payne also faces one count each of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, electronic solicitation of a minor for sex or other illegal activities, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and prescription controlled substance not in proper container.
By Dave Thompson
The Paducah Sun
