Court officials say 35-year-old Justin Lee Shepherd of White County appeared in the criminal court Monday (October 26, 2020) and pled guilty to rape of a child. The victim in this case was under the age of 13.

He was sentenced to serve 30 years of incarceration at 100 percent. Shepherd will be required to be on the sex offender registry for life and be subject to community supervision for life.

Agencies involved in the investigation include the District Attorney General’s Office, the White County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Children’s Services, the Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center and other members of the CPIT team (Child Protective Investigative Team).

As the investigation progressed, the child disclosed Shepherd, the child’s step-father at the time of the offense, sexually abused her. Investigators ultimately obtained a confession from Shepherd.

Present in the court room at the time of the plea was the very courageous victim, the child’s mother and father, other family members and several members of the organization Bikers Against Child Abuse who were all there to support the victim.

Assistant District Attorneys Antoinette Welch and Caroline Knight, who are part of the Child Sexual Abuse prosecution team of the District Attorney General’s office prosecuted Shepherd in this case.