by Staff Report
MOUNT VERNON — A 38-year-old Mount Vernon man was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison Thursday for having sex with a 12-year-old girl in 2005.
Clifton Leroy Hesseltine II pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a child earlier this summer. Court documents say he was a friend of the girl’s family at the time of the crime.
Her parents and stepparents originally told the police in 2005, that Hesseltine was being “inappropriately friendly” with the girl.
In March, the now 15-year-old girl told her parents she was ready to talk to police about what happened.
Hesseltine frequently baby sat for the family and would sometimes spend the night on their couch. Court documents say that’s when the incidents occurred.
Hesseltine will be under community custody for life.
