Judge gives Kentucky man convicted of sexual assault a choice: Join the military or go to jail

A Kentucky man charged with sexual assault was given an unusual ultimatum by a judge: join the military or serve jail time, Task & Purpose reports.

Brandon Scott Price, 28, was sentenced by Judge Thomas Wingate to a 12-month sentence suspended for two years. If he were to accept the judge's offer in the next month, he can avoid any jail time.

“If you don’t enroll in 30 days, you can report to the Franklin County Regional Jail,” Wingate said. “You are under the gun, young man. You gotta do it.”

Price assaulted a female inmate while working as a guard at the Franklin County Regional Jail in 2019. “Though Price’s shift was near its end, Price volunteered to transport (the inmate) to the hospital,” a lawsuit file by the inmate states. “Price transported (the inmate) alone, in violation of Jail policy and industry standards and practices.” According to the lawsuit, Price pulled over the van he was transporting the inmate back from the hospital in and sexually assaulted her.

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“He turned around and told (the inmate) if she performed oral sex on him, he would talk to the KDOC employee he knew about getting her released from jail earlier,” reads the lawsuit.

Speaking to Price during his sentencing, Judge Wingate told him he's getting a "huge break."

“You made a terrible mistake, which I know personally cost the county money.”

As Task & Purpose points out, military recruiters are under no obligation to accept anyone who doesn’t meet the standards of enlistment, "so a judge’s ruling does not apply beyond the doors of a recruiting office."

Read more at Task & Purpose.