Judge formally sentences John Cariel to maximum allowed under law

September 21, 2022 Local News
john-cariel
john-cariel

The former Grayson County Middle School teacher convicted of sex crimes earlier this year has been formally sentenced.

John Cariel, 70, was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison after being found guilty in late May of first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree sodomy and distribution of obscene matter to minors.

Cariel was sentenced to five years each on the first-degree sexual abuse and third-degree sodomy convictions, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Blake Chambers, who served as special prosecutor in the case. The longtime teacher was also given one year on the distribution of obscene matter to a minor count.

The five year sentences will run consecutively, Chambers said. The one year sentence will run concurrently to the 10 year sentence because the charge is a misdemeanor.

The judged in the case followed the sentencing recommendation put forth by the jury in May, and is the maximum allowed under Kentucky law.

Formal sentencing was originally scheduled for July but the highly detailed presentencing report was not yet completed and had not been turned over to the court.

Chambers is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Butler, Ohio, Edmonson, and Hancock counties.

The case

Cariel was arrested on May 15, 2018, after an investigation by the Leitchfield Police Department, with then-Det. Kevin Smith and then-Grayson County High School Resource Officer Ian Renfrow leading the inquiry.

He was indicted by a Grayson County Grand Jury in July 2018.

WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND DESCRIPTIONS BELOW

Cariel was found guilty of abusing multiple victims, according to Chambers, but below is the original charging document which led to the charges.

According to Cariel’s arrest citation:

  • Renfrow received a report concerning a sexual encounter between Cariel and a juvenile under the age of 14 (the juvenile was 13 at the time of the offenses).
  • Cariel, through his job as a sixth grade teacher, knew the victim and made initial contact with the victim via a social media-like application using his cellular device.
  • Cariel was found to have sent photographs of his exposed genitalia to the juvenile victim. It was further found that a physical sexual act was performed in the parking lot of Major’s Trucking in Caneyville … around October 2017, where Cariel exposed his genitalia to the victim, then allowed the juvenile victim to perform oral sex on him. After oral sex was performed, the juvenile was exposed to Cariel as he knowingly masturbated in the presence of the juvenile victim.

Cariel, the arrest citation states, “admitted to each of the … allegations.”

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com