Kentucky man gets 30-year sentence for raping six-month-old daughter; infant flown to hospital for life-saving treatment
26-year-old Mykill Puckett pleads guilty to multiple charges; partner not indicted; state child-abuse rates cited
A Kentucky man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping his six-month-old daughter in Webster County. Mykill Puckett, 26, was arrested in August 2023 on a series of charges linked to the alleged abuse.
The child was treated in the emergency department at Baptist Health Madisonville and was flown about 150 miles to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville for life-saving care. Puckett and his wife, Holly Jo Jones, were arrested on Aug. 10, 2023 on felony charges of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal abuse of a child under 12. Two months later, Puckett was charged with three additional felonies: first-degree rape of a child under 12, incest with a child under 12 and first-degree wanton endangerment. He pleaded guilty to all charges earlier this month.
At sentencing, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said law enforcement and prosecutors faced some of the worst conduct imaginable. Prosecutor Zac Greenwell, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit, described the abuse as horrific and noted that Puckett will be subject to five years of supervised release after his prison term and must register as a sex offender for life. He will not be eligible for probation, and a 10-year protective order will keep him away from the child.
The case also involved Puckett’s partner, Holly Jo Jones. A grand jury in April 2024 declined to indict Jones.
Authorities began the investigation on Aug. 7, 2023, after staff at Baptist Health Madisonville reported injuries in a six-month-old child consistent with abuse. Police arrested the couple on Aug. 10, 2023, on felony charges related to the alleged offenses.
Kentucky’s child maltreatment rate remains among the highest in the United States. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau report covering 2023 found a rate of 14.2 child maltreatment victims per 1,000 children in Kentucky, well above the national average of 7.4 per 1,000. Babies under one year accounted for the highest share of victims in the state, according to the data.