Tennessee Woman Gets Prison for Child Rape

(Cookeville, Tennessee) A local woman, Tonya Michelle Phy, has pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery resulting from unlawful sexual contact with a 12-year-old boy between February and July of 2012.

As a result, Judge Leon Burns Jr. sentenced Phy to 10 years in prison.

“After much discussion with the victim and his parents, they were very happy with this resolution,” Deputy District Attorney Tony Craighead said. “They felt this was an appropriate sentence considering all the facts. They did not want their child to have to endure the trauma of a jury trial.”

The case involved the unlawful sexual contact between Phy, who was a family friend acting as a babysiter for the child, and a 12-year-old boy during a period of time between February and July of 2012.

The case came to the attention of the authorities in July of 2012 when teachers at Avery Trace noticed suspicious behavior between the boy and Phy.

Phy will be classified as a lifetime sexual offender upon release from prison.