KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A former Knoxville firefighter was sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a 10-year-old boy over a two-year period in the 1990s.
But during his hearing Monday, Ronald Scott Beckley, 42, seemed concerned with only one thing _ the temperature of his cell in the Knox County Jail.
When offered a chance to speak on his own behalf by Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner, Beckley declined. But when the judge asked him if he had any questions about his rights or the proceeding, Beckley requested that Baumgartner do something about the chilly temperature in the jail.
``I will advise the grand jury of that,'' Baumgartner replied.
Beckley said nothing to the now-deceased victim's mother, who sat only a few feet away from him in court.
Yana Goe had entrusted Beckley with her son and looked to the former firefighter as a father figure for the boy.
``It's partial closure,'' she said of the sentence. ``It'll never be completely over.''
Beckley was scheduled to stand trial Monday on multiple charges of raping Jonathan Jackson. Jonathan could not take the witness stand because he was killed in 1999 after being struck by a truck while riding his bicycle.
With another witness ready to testify against Beckley, defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs and prosecutors reached a deal that would ensure two child rape convictions, a 15-year sentence that must be served completely and Beckley's required registration as a sex offender.
Beckley has already served roughly three years in jail awaiting trial.
