CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — A former Florida correctional officer will spend his life in prison after deputies say he sexually battered a minor for years.
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office's Special Victim's Unit played a role in the initial arrest of 41-year-old Kenneth Slanker and says he was sentenced Wednesday.
According to a news release, Slanker worked as a corrections officer at the Coleman Correctional Complex in Sumter County at the time of the crime.
Slanker's charges stem from a 2019 investigation. Deputies say the abuse began before the child was 10 years old. According to a news release, Slanker confessed to "approximately 25 instances" where he sexually abused the minor.
"Kenneth Slanker is a textbook example of a sexual predator. He betrayed, manipulated, and victimized this innocent child," Sheriff Mike Prendergast said at the time.
He was found guilty during a one-day jury trial in February. This week, he appeared before a judge. A detective, the person Slanker abused and that person's family spoke.
Judge Richard Howard decided Slanker would serve a life sentence in prison on each of his six charges.
"Due to the excellent work by Citrus County Sheriff's Office Detectives Ricci and Barry, Kenneth Slanker will never have the opportunity to prey on another child as long as he lives," Prendergast said. "Although no amount of prison time will undo what he has done to this innocent child, the victim and the victim's family now have closure and a sense of justice."
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