An Elliott County man has been sentenced to 100 years in federal prison for physically and sexually abusing three young girls over a period exceeding two years.
Ronald Stinespring, 51, of Sandy Hook, pled guilty in federal court to three counts of using a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, possession of material containing sexually explicit images of minors and obstruction of justice.
Under federal law, Stinespring must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
The investigation began when a young girl, dirty and malnourished, knocked on a stranger’s door in Elliott County, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
When police arrived, she told officers she and two other females had been repeatedly physically and sexually abused by Stinespring, who is two of the victims’ adoptive father. She also stated she had not left Stinesping’s property in over two years, prosecutors said.
She then detailed some of the abuse she suffered, including being made to sit on rocks for an extended period, being tied up with paracord, having water poured over her, and even being shocked with a stun gun on the tops of her feet, in her armpits, and around her genitals.
Law enforcement executed a series of search warrants at Stinespring’s Elliott County property, approximately a mile-and-a-half deep in the woods of Elliott County.
“As they approached the property, police encountered what they believed to be rudimentary roadblocks of logs and downed trees lying across the path,” prosecutors said. “The house was a makeshift cabin constructed of clapboard and surrounded by pigs and goats. A search of the home revealed numerous electronic devices as well as a fetal doppler, pregnancy tests and birth control pills”.
Stinespring’s electronic devices contained sexually explicit pictures, prosecutors said, and videos of all three victims, at times when some or all were minors. The suspect admitted he produced the images, and furthermore admitted to possessing sexually explicit images of other minors that he obtained via the internet.
While incarcerated after his arrest, Stinespring authored a letter to one victim, attempting to coerce her into taking responsibility for the criminal conduct.
“The letter was sent through a third party and was written in an elaborate code consisting of a complex series of numbers,” according to prosecutors. “The code was ultimately broken, and the attempted obstruction of justice was discovered.”
Stinespring was indicted in April 2019 on 10 counts of first-degree rape, 10 counts of first-degree sodomy, 10 counts of incest, first-degree sexual abuse (victim 12 or under), 11 counts of first-degree criminal abuse (victim 12 or under), first-degree wanton endangerment, two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, fleeing or evading police (on foot), and resisting arrest.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
