City man given 20 year sentence, must register

A Russellville man indicted for rape pleaded guilty to sexually-related charges last week, courthouse officials said.
Randy Dewayne Price, Jr., 34, 823 Scott Ave., Russellville, pleaded guilty to a sexually-related felony charge at a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said.
Rushing said Price received a 20-year sentence split with three years and a day to serve in prison followed by five years probation.
Rushing said Price must also register as a sex offender and cannot have any contact with the victim.
“After speaking with the victim in the case and with her family, they really wanted to be able to settle the case without the victim having to testify,” Rushing said.
“They also wanted to make sure Mr. Price would spend time in prison and that he would be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
“They will know exactly how much time Mr. Price will spend in prison and if he messes up any time after he is released, he will be serving the remainder of the 20-year sentence.
“We are pleased with the sentence and appreciate the hard work by the Russellville Police Department on the investigation.”
Records show that Price was originally indicted in May for second-degree rape stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred more than a year ago.
According to Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett, a female victim came forward in January who had recently given birth to a child that she said was the result of a rape.
Hargett said the victim was 16 years old at the time the child was conceived but she stated Price allegedly forced her to have sex with him.
Hargett said the victim resided in the same house as Price when the rape allegedly occurred and stated she had been too scared to come forward and report the rape until Price was arrested on a separate crime and sent to prison.
Police investigator Lt. Scotty Lowery said officers had to wait until Price was released from the state penitentiary before he could be picked up on the rape charge.
Lowery said Price was picked up from the Staton Correction Facility in Elmore on Feb. 26 and brought back to the Russellville Police Department where he was formally charged with the crime.