MURRAY – On Monday, Calloway Circuit Judge Andrea Moore sentenced a Murray man to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty late last year to possessing child sexual abuse materials, bringing an end to a case that has been ongoing since 2024.
Jace Penner, 23, was indicted on 20 counts of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, Class D felonies, on May 31, 2024, following a direct submission of the case to the grand jury. Other court records specify the minors depicted in the materials were over age 12.
The indictment asserted that, between Nov. 1, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2024, Penner knowingly possessed, controlled or intentionally viewed material depicting an actual sexual performance by a minor.
At Monday’s hearing, Department of Public Advocacy attorney Victoria Wright asked the judge to consider probating the agreed-upon sentence of three years, citing, among other things, Penner’s lack of criminal history and compliance with bond conditions. She began by directing Moore’s attention to Penner’s presentence investigation report, specifically the criminogenic needs and risk assessment, noting her client’s score of 14 out of 49 was among the lowest she had ever seen.
Wright further noted that the charges date back to when Penner was 19-20 years old and said that, since being out on bond, he started attending GED classes, regularly sees a counselor and joined a church-affiliated group that provides additional counseling.
“He has been with his girlfriend for three years, and he has a great support system with his parents,” Wright explained. “He’s worked hard to try to show this court while out on bond that he is not the same person that committed these crimes, Your Honor. That person – that 19- to 20-year-old – was lonely, and he made poor decisions.”
She advised that Penner has learned from his mistakes and understands the consequences of his actions, including being required to register as a sex offender.
“We are asking that you allow him to be probated, allow him to continue working on his GED, going to counseling and (improving) his life,” Wright said in summary. “I do believe Mr. Penner has really shown this court, while on bond, why he is a good fit for probation.”
Penner was released from custody within 24 hours of his arrest on June 3, 2024, after posting the $5,000 cash bond set by the grand jury. The limited amount of time he spent in the Calloway County Detention Center was a key factor discussed during Monday’s sentencing.
In his rebuttal, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James Burkeen acknowledged Penner’s lack of criminal history and other mitigating factors but urged Moore to impose the sentence based on the severity and nature of the crimes.
“He was found to have in his possession over 20 counts of CSAM – child sexual abuse material,” Burkeen argued. “To outright probate that with one day of jail time served would – and I think this is the reasoning under the statute – ‘unduly depreciate the seriousness of the offense.’”
Burkeen noted that consideration of the defendant’s youth and lack of criminal history was already reflected in the plea agreement recommending a three-year sentence.
“He is statutorily eligible for probation,” Burkeen continued. “However, again, with the seriousness of the offense, the nature of the offense, … I would ask the court to impose the sentence.”
Moore praised Wright for her compelling argument but said full probation was not appropriate given the circumstances of the case. However, she said she would seriously consider a motion for shock probation, a request for early release that may be filed after a defendant has served a portion of their sentence. Under Kentucky law, such motions may be filed between 30 and 180 days after a defendant is remanded to custody.
The website Netpredators.com devotes a page to Penner. The page lists Jan. 22, 2024, as his “catch date,” identifying “Predator Poachers” as the “catcher,” and features a “catch video” more than two hours long.*
The video shows a man who identifies himself as Gordon Flowers going to Penner’s residence and confronting him with what he described as evidence provided to the site by one of its affiliated “catchers,” adults who pose as minors on social media platforms to identify suspected sexual predators.
According to the video, Penner engaged in private conversations and shared sexually explicit photos of himself on Instagram with a person he believed to be a 9-year-old girl named Lisa. Flowers also claimed to have additional evidence of similar conduct involving adolescent girls but provided few details.
Much of the recorded conversation focused on the social media app Telegram, which Flowers claimed is used by some offenders to view, trade and distribute child sexual abuse material. Penner told Flowers that, on multiple occasions, he had received unsolicited links from people he did not know through Telegram. The links included still photos and preview videos depicting boys and girls of literally all ages being sexually abused. Penner said he did not know what the links contained until he opened them.
At the end of the video, Flowers is seen outside the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office before turning over his purported evidence.
*CORRECTION: A previous version of this story failed to identify “Predator Poachers” as the group claiming responsibility for catching Penner. We apologize for the error.
