Man sentenced to life in prison in 2018 rape of a Georgetown College student
A man convicted of raping a Georgetown College student was sentenced Monday to life in prison, according to prosecutors.
Cody A. Arnett, 36, was sentenced after a jury convicted him of rape, sodomy, burglary, evidence tampering and being a persistent felony offender earlier this year, according to court records. Arnett was accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a Georgetown College residence hall on Sept. 23, 2018. He threatened her with a knife during the assault, according to court records.
The jury recommended that Arnett be sentenced to six consecutive life sentences for his crimes, according to court records. But state law doesn’t allow for judges to impose life sentences consecutively. Commonwealth’s Attorney Sharon Muse Johnson said the jury’s recommendation of six life sentences should indicate to the parole board that Arnett shouldn’t be released.
“The day Arnett’s sentence ends Ava’s begins,” Muse Johnson told the jury, according to a news release. “The day he is released her life is over.” Muse Johnson said Arnett was a danger to the community and “has more than earned a life sentence.”
The victim told investigators she was asleep on her couch when a man she’d never met entered her residence, attacked her and raped her, according to Arnett’s arrest citation. The victim was raped multiple times during the attack, which happened during her first months on campus, according to court records.
Arnett forced the victim to take a shower after raping her, according to his arrest citation. At one point during the attack, the victim fought back and stabbed her attacker in self defense, according to court records. Arnett fled after he was stabbed. He was detained outside the residence, according to court records.
Arnett will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years of his sentence, according to state law. Arnett is still serving time from a prior felony conviction, according to state prison records.
The victim, Ava Stokes, has sued Georgetown College. She alleged in her lawsuit that Georgetown College was negligent in providing proper security to keep students safe and said the college had “longstanding” problems with trespassing, theft, sexual harassment and sexual assaults.
The Herald-Leader does not normally name victims of rape. Stokes has has been outspoken about her case. She told WLEX18 she wants “other survivors to know that you are allowed to be proud of yourself for surviving something like this, you’re allowed to feel angry and want justice.”
She also spoke at Arnett’s sentencing hearing. Muse Johnson said her statement was “empowering and bold. I could not be prouder of her.”
“Georgetown College had long failed to take adequate steps to ensure the safety and security of (its) students, female students in particular,” Stokes’ attorney wrote in the lawsuit against Georgetown College.
She alleged in her lawsuit that the college was negligent, inflicted emotional distress upon her and violated the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. She also alleged that the college committed fraud by misrepresenting the safety of students on campus.
The lawsuit named Georgetown College and several college officials as defendants. It asked for damages from the college and the officials named in the lawsuit.
She also alleged in her lawsuit that Georgetown College tried to silence her over the incident and subjected her to a hostile environment on campus.
Stokes, who was on the volleyball team at Georgetown, eventually transferred to another school. Her transfer came “at a steep financial cost and to the detriment of her educational progress and mental health, in order to ensure her safety and access to equal educational opportunities,” her attorney wrote in court records.
Georgetown College has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. The college’s attorneys argued in court records that the arguments weren’t sufficient enough to support her claims. Attorneys also argued her lawsuit was outside the statute of limitations.
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 10:55 AM.