By Karen Hall

Editor

A Manchester man who was found guilty of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery after a jury trial in August was sentenced last week to 47 years in prison.

In effect, this means that Rickey A. Hickman, 55, will never be free again.

"He's not a good candidate to outlive this sentence," said local attorney Bill Haywood, who defended Hickman. According to the pre-sentence report, Hickman has been physically disabled for 10 years, suffering from an enlarged heart, diabetes, COPD, and high blood pressure.

Haywood was ready to argue a motion for a new trial at the sentencing hearing, pointing out that the young victim changed her story while testifying. Judge Lee Russell denied the motion, stating, "I recognize there was a difference in the testimony, but this does not amount to recanting. The jury did conclude she was credible on direct examination; they could have gone the other way. I do agree with the verdict."

The pre-sentence report by Terrence Howard of the Board of Probation and Parole shows that Hickman is no stranger to courtrooms, or to accusations of this kind.

"I never touched ... in any way at all," Hickman stated for the report. "The child abuse case in Murfreesboro went to court and was proven by the court I didn't do it. The rape on a child under 16 in Waynesville, Mo. was proven I didn't do it either. The case here ... they said I did it, but I never did."

The pre-sentence report also includes a victim impact statement. The victim's mother writes, "Our entire family has suffered emotionally. It is not right for a child to lose their innocence." The victim is still suffering from headaches, loss of sleep, uncontrolled crying and anger, and sadness.

Also sentenced last week was Christopher Blunkall, 33, of Shelbyville. The jury found him guilty of three counts of rape of a child, and Russell sentenced Blunkall to 32 years in prison, followed by community supervision for the rest of his life.

Like Hickman, Blunkall maintains his innocence.

"I have been wrongfully accused and wrongfully convicted of a crime I did not do," he wrote for Howard's pre-sentence report. "I am not the bad person the DA said I was."

Blunkall's whole family has continued to "stick by him," according to what he told Howard. Family members have agreed to pay about $2,000 for the transcript of his trial, which is necessary for an appeal, said attorney Robert S. Peters of Winchester.

"I'm not going to abandon Mr. Blunkall now," Peters said.

Russell praised Peters' work on the case, stating, "He did the best job he possibly could with the facts he had to work with."

The facts presented at Blunkall's trial showed that he was corresponding with the victim by text message for nearly a year before he picked her up after school and brought her to a Lewisburg motel where they spent the night together, and he repeatedly raped her. The next morning, Blunkall drove his victim back towards Winchester, letting her out in a wooded area from which she was able to make her way home. Russell said he and others were convinced Blunkall intended to kill the girl at this point, but she was able to get away from him.

The victim's life was spared, but as her mother told Howard, "Christopher Blunkall has taken away something that my daughter will never have back."