A Columbus man pleaded guilty to statutory rape in Lowndes County Circuit Court this week.
Stephen Noe, pleaded guilty to the 2011 rape of a then 13-year-old girl.
The rape occurred in December 2011 when the victim claimed Noe snatched her off her bicycle and dragged her to an empty shed where he forced her to perform oral sex on him. Noe denied kidnapping the child and claimed the sex was consensual. He further claimed he thought the child was 18 years old.
Noe pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 20 years with five suspended. Noe will serve 15 years in prison with five years post-release supervision.
In other cases:
Judge Lee Howard has yet to make a ruling on the hearing.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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