Sex offender, burglar sentenced to prison

MOUNT VERNON – A repeat sex offender and a burglar were sentenced this morning in Knox County Common Pleas Court for separate felony crimes.


Michael D. Fulk, 42, Howard, was sentenced to a mandatory 18 months in prison for importuning. Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher said Fulk enticed a 15-year-old boy into a public restroom where he solicited the boy to engage in sexual activity with him, on June 29. 


Fulk received the mandatory prison sentence because he was previously convicted of aggravated rape, in 1988.  Fulk was also classified as a sex offender for the new offense.  The case was investigated by Detective Sergeant Roger Brown and Detective Tom Bumpus, Knox County Sheriff’s Office.


Hershel R. Jones, III, 25, Mount Vernon, was convicted of burglarizing a Mount Vernon residence, on June 27, and for being caught with a stolen motorcycle, on July 7.  Jones was sentenced to a 17-month prison term.  Detective Sergeant Jeff Jacobs, Mount Vernon Police Department, investigated the burglary case and Brown investigated the receiving stolen property case.