Mark Lunsford’s son will spend the next 10 days in jail, but will not be registered as a sex offender after being sentenced Monday for having unlawful sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl.

Clark County (Ohio) Municipal Court Judge Thomas Trempe sentenced Joshua Lunsford, 18, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, on a Level 1 misdemeanor charge of sexual conduct with a minor. The charge carries a maximum 180 days in jail and $1,000 fine.

A 170-day jail term was suspended as long as the teen successfully completes the year of probation that was also ordered. Because of the misdemeanor charge, he will not have to register with the state’s sex offender registry.

Joshua Lunsford had been facing a Level 4 felony, which carries a potential 6- to 18-month prison sentence and $5,000 fine on a charge of unlawful sexual conduct. However, he changed his not guilty plea to guilty after a plea agreement was reached, and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered.

That report is similar to ones prepared in Florida where a person’s background and criminal history are considered before a judge decides an appropriate sentence.

According to a police report, the 14-year-old girl’s mother accused Joshua Lunsford of fondling her daughter outside a skating rink and outside a shopping mall March 30 and March 31 while the two were kissing. Though the girl was considered a willing participant, law prohibits such relationships; because he was four years older than the girl, Joshua Lunsford was initially charged with the felony after his March 31 arrest.

Joshua Lunsford is the brother of Jessica Marie Lunsford, the 9-year-old Homosassa girl raped and killed by a convicted sex offender in February 2005. John Couey, 48, will appear today before Circuit Judge Ric Howard at the Citrus County Courthouse for a series of hearings to determine if a Miami jury’s recommendation that he be executed for the crime is appropriate.

Joshua Lunsford has lived with Mark Lunsford’s first wife since the two divorced.

Mark Lunsford has traveled across the country since his daughter’s death to urge the passage of tougher laws dealing with sex offenders and predators. Dozens of states, including Ohio and Florida, have signed laws handing down tougher sentences and putting in place more monitoring for such individuals.
- But not for his son apparently. What about Genarlow Wilson in Georgia who was sentenced to 10 years prison for pretty much the same thing?

A spokesman for the Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation said Mark Lunsford was out of town Monday. He could not be reached, and a call to his assistant was not returned.


Click to view image: 'Court Document #2'

Click to view image: 'Court Document #1'