Violent kidnapping over botched drug deal leads to life sentence for Kentucky man
A southeastern Kentucky man convicted of kidnapping two people over a drug deal gone bad has been sentenced to life in prison.
Federal authorities said George Oscar Messer, 62, of Whitley County, held a gun to the head of one victim while demanding money and sexually assaulted another victim.
The kidnappings happened in April 2018. Messer’s son, Jake Messer, believed the male victim was involved in taking $10,000 Messer had put up to buy drugs.
The victim thought he had set up a deal to buy high-grade marijuana from two other men with Messer’s cash, but the dealers turned out to be con men and stole the money, according to an affidavit by Todd E. Tremaine, a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The victims said Jake Messer and others held them against their will and threatened them. One victim said Jake Messer sexually assaulted her and that George Oscar Messer sexually assaulted her while holding a pistol.
Messer held the victims for about 24 hours, according to prosecutors. They escaped after one victim’s mother saw them beside the road with George Oscar Messer and took them, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced George Oscar Messer on Wednesday.
The sentence was longer because of factors that included the use of a dangerous weapon and the sexual assault of the victim, according to Shier.
A jury also convicted Jack Messer. He is scheduled for sentencing later this month.
“This is an unsettling example of the disturbing effects of illegal drug trafficking on our communities,” Shier said in a news release. “In this case, it also wrought armed kidnappings, tortuous threats, and repeated sexual assaults. That unconstrained violence and unspeakable infliction of suffering certainly warrants the sentence imposed.”
Kentucky State Police investigated the case with the ATF.
