Frank Nance appeared Wednesday in Marion County Circuit and changed his plea to guilty to 114 charges related to child pornography, sexual assault, rape, producing child pornography and sexually grooming children.
Nance, 66, formerly of St. Joe, was sentenced to 68 years in prison. He’s already serving 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to other child pornography charges.
On the latest charges, Nance will have to serve 17.5 years of his latest sentence before he can appear in front of a parole board and request an early release, according to Deputy Prosecutor Chris Carter. At that point, Nance would be 83 years old.
Nance had been set to go to trial on 1,717 felony charges related to child pornography and child sexual abuse, including 18 counts of rape. The affidavit in the case was sealed by Circuit Court Judge John Putman.
However, a motion by Nance’s defense attorney to suppress evidence gathered by law enforcement officers sheds some light on the evidence collected in the case.
In the motion, Nance’s attorney said law enforcement officers received electronic devices with photos and videos on them showing Nance having sex with children. The attorney argued the items belonged to Nance and were in a home where Nance resided.
The judge ruled against the motion to suppress the evidence and Nance took a plea bargain shortly thereafter. Before pronouncing sentence on Nance during Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Putman had Carter recite the facts the state could prove during a trial.
Carter told the judge the state would be able to present hundreds upon hundreds of photos and videos indicating Nance’s guilt.
The prosecutor told the judge Nance had groomed the children so well that when similar accusations involving Nance and the same children came to light in 2010, the children all denied any such activities took place.
Of the 1,717 felony charges Nance faced, 1,672 of them were related to child pornography and using a computer to exploit a child. Nance also faced 18 rape charges. Rape is a Class Y felony punishable by 10-40 years or life in prison.
In the plea agreement, the state noted additional evidence seized could have led to the filing of more than 60 additional felony charges.
As part of the plea agreement, Nance forfeited his interest in six acres of property in St. Joe. Money from the sale of the property would be deposited into a trust fund to benefit the victims of Nance’s crimes.
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