COVINGTON, Ky. — A Northern Kentucky man on Friday pleaded guilty to sodomy and sex abuse charges involving a victim under 12 years old. Keith Edward West, 43, must serve at least 17 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
According to a news release from the office of Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders, West had been the victim’s babysitter for five years between 2014-2019. All of the abuse took place during that span, Sanders wrote.
The victim disclosed the incidents to police after their family cut ties with West.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Maria Schletker recommended a sentence of 20 years for West, who pleaded guilty to three counts of sodomy and two counts of first-degree sex abuse. He will have to undergo sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender before he can be considered for parole.
"We'd prefer to put child molesters in prison forever but this spares a young child from testifying about the worst days of the child's life in a courtroom full of strangers,” Sanders wrote in a news release.
West will be formally sentenced Nov. 24.
