A Guthrie man who pleaded guilty to molesting a 7-year-old boy was sentenced this week in Oklahoma County District Court.
Scott Keith Jepson, 34, of Guthrie, is a former Edmond Public Schools bus driver who had worked for the district since 2006. He was fired from the district shortly after his arrest and charge in August 2014. The young boy Jepson admitted to touching inappropriately was not an Edmond Public Schools student; however, during the investigation, police discovered that Jepson did take an illicit video of a different 7-year-old boy in a public restroom. That child was a student who rode his bus.
In April, the man entered a blind guilty plea to eight felony counts:
- Lewd or indecent acts with a child under 16 (2 counts)
- Possession of obscene material involving the participation of a minor under the age of 18 (2 counts)
- Distributing child pornography (3 counts)
- Manufacturing child pornography (1 count)
In a pre-sentencing letter the defendant wrote to the judge, he says he rationalized his actions by telling himself, "God made me this way," and comparing his pedophilia to homosexuality:
“Put two and two together, if being gay ... was normal, God-done, out of my control, then why is my attraction to young boys any different?”
At sentencing, however, Jepson apologized to the victims and their families and thanked them for reporting him to police so that he could get help. He says it makes him sick when he thinks about what he has done.
Oklahoma County District Judge Donald Deason appeared unimpressed with Jepson's request for treatment, saying he had never heard of a "predatory pedophile" being "cured" with treatment.
Under 21 O.S. § 1123, the penalty for lewd or indecent acts with a child under 16 is three to 20 years in prison if the child is age 12-15. If, however, the child is under the age of 12, as in this case, the act is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
Judge Deason sentenced the man to 35 years in prison. Upon release, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
