Elmore sentenced to 30 years

    A Thaxton man will spend at least the next 30 years in prison for sexually molesting two pre-teen girls, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz. Timothy Craig Elmore, 40, of Thaxton was sentenced last week in Bedford County Circuit Court.

    The crimes occurred in early June and Krantz said that Elmore was still on probation, after serving a little more than a year for a conviction of unlawful carnal knowledge with a minor in Franklin County in 2006.
    Krantz said that Elmore lured the girls into the woods, on June 3,  where he sexually molested them. Then, he molested one of the girls, again, in her home, on June 9. The girls told their parents and the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office was notified. When deputies came to arrest Elmore on June 10, he fled into the woods but deputies, with assistance from U. S. Marshals, found him.
    Elmore pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to two counts of forcible sodomy, object penetration and sexual battery.
    At last week’s sentencing, he received sentences totaling 75 years in prison, with 45 years suspended. If released, he will have 10 years intensive supervised probation, will be barred from contact with minors   and    will    have   to register as a sex offender.
    He may not be released at all. Krantz said that, at the end of the 30 years, he could be involuntarily committed if he is deemed to pose a risk to the community.
    Elmore may also face more than 30 years in prison. After his conviction in Franklin County, eight years and nine months of the sentence he received there were suspended and he could be required to serve this time because he violated the terms of his probation.
    Krantz said that Elmore, who has been behind bars since his arrest last summer, received a sentence that exceeded the state guidelines for his crime because a sex offender evaluation showed him be a moderate to high risk offender.