JACKSON — A Perryville man pleaded guilty in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court on Dec. 28 to charges of child molestation and possession of child pornography.
Terry A. Carroll, 75, entered the guilty plea as part of an agreement with special prosecutor Angel Woodruff, who dropped five additional charges, including five other felony counts ranging from three counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree to sexual misconduct involving a child and sexual exploitation of a minor. If found guilty on all charges, Carroll could have faced up to a 40-year prison sentence.
As a result of the plea agreement, Carroll was sentenced by Judge Benjamin Lewis to 7 years in prison on the molestation charge and four years on the child pornography charge, with both terms suspended. Instead, Carroll was placed on 5 years of supervised probation on each count and is required to register as a sex offender.
Carroll was originally charged on Aug. 8, 2021, with statutory sodomy/attempted deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 14 years old, sexual exploitation of a minor, child molestation/third degree and possession of child pornography.
According to the probable cause statement filed by the Perryville Police Department in the case, Carroll was alleged to have knowingly had sexual contact with the victim, installed cameras in the juvenile’s bedroom and linked the video to his phone and produced video of the juvenile victim.
The probable cause statement also indicated that Carroll’s wife initially “found out about the relationship going on between the suspect and victim by noticing his phone viewing camera system as he had fallen asleep with his phone in his hand.
