GREENFIELD — An Indianapolis man facing felony charges of rape and sexual misconduct against a Hancock County girl stemming from an incident in February has accepted a plea agreement.
Denver Banning, 19, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two Level 5 felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. As part of the plea agreement, two counts of Level 3 felony rape were dropped.
Banning is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 24 in Hancock County Circuit Court. Judge Scott Sirk told him he is facing up to six years in prison on each count and could serve as much as 12 years, depending on the recommendation made in the pre-sentence investigation. The rape charges would have carried a term of 16 years for each count.
Banning appeared in court with his attorney, Jacob Yates Moore of Nashville, and responded “yes” when asked by the judge if he understood the ramifications of his crime and terms of the plea agreement.
Sirk also told Banning he will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years and a that a no-contact order with the victim will remain in effect during the duration of his sentence.
The incident was originally reported to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department by the girl’s family in February. The girl, a teen-ager, told a detective that Banning, a man she knew, had forced himself on her against her will during an encounter on Feb. 27.
The girl was taken to Community Hospital in Anderson, where a sexual assault examination kit was completed on Feb. 28. An interview with officials from the Department of Child Services was also set for the same day at the sheriff’s department.
Banning was interviewed by a detective in mid-March, records show. During the interview, he told police he had sex with the girl after they vaped and wrestled around. He said their encounter was consensual.
Banning is currently out on bond.
