Hopkinsville man has been in custody since his arrest in 2013
FRANKFORT, KY. (Aug. 1, 2019) – A Christian County man has been convicted on three counts of rape and a jury has recommended that he spend the rest of his life in prison, Attorney General Andy Beshear announced today.
James T. Hinman II, 39, of Hopkinsville, was convicted on one count of first-degree rape with serious physical injury, a Class A felony, and two counts of first-degree rape, a Class B felony.
The jury has recommended he be sentenced to life in prison for the Class A felony and 20 years in prison for each of the Class B felony counts. The jury recommended the sentences run consecutively.
Hinman has been in custody since March 2013, when he was arrested by the Christian County Sheriff’s Office on rape charges.
Hinman was originally convicted in 2014 on one count of first-degree rape, which was overturned on appeal. The former commonwealth’s attorney for Christian County indicted Hinman on three counts of first-degree rape in 2017, but the current commonwealth’s attorney requested a special prosecutor from Beshear’s office due to a conflict of interest. Barbara Whaley in Beshear’s office handled the prosecution of the case.
“I am thankful for the assistance of our law enforcement partners in Christian County and proud of Barbara Whaley for securing justice for the victim in this case,” Beshear said. “Fighting for justice for every victim of sexual assault is a top priority for my office and our team.”
The formal sentencing of Hinman is scheduled for Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. Central time in Christian Circuit Court.
Since taking office Beshear has fought to prevent and prosecute sexual assaults, take child predators off the streets and provide services to victims.
In December, Whaley also secured the conviction of a McCracken County man on first-degree rape of a minor and the jury recommended that he serve life in prison.
Beshear always reminds Kentuckians that they have a moral and legal duty to report any instance of child abuse to local law enforcement or to Kentucky’s Child Abuse hotline at 877-597-2331 or 877-KYSAFE1.
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