Bernard Jackson gets 18 life sentences in Waldo rape cases
Bernard Jackson, the 53-year-old man found guilty in July on seven counts of rape stemming from assaults in 1983 and 1984, was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences today by a Jackson County judge. Jackson was convicted on charges of breaking into the Waldo homes of women living alone and raping and robbing them. He was convicted of 18 felonies including the seven rape charges, seven counts sodomy and four robbery charges. The sentence was the maximum allowed.
KCTV-TV Channel 5 reports that Jackson’s attorney said she is filing an appeal and that Jackson still says he is innocent. Prosecutors used a combination of DNA evidence and witness testimony to convict Jackson. The Star reports, he has already spent more than 30 years in prison on unrelated sexual assault charges.
Jackson faces another trial for rapes in 2009 and 2010 in Waldo and Brookside, but a trial date hasn’t been set.
