An exotic dancer accused of killing a customer by running him over in her SUV outside his home and dragging him for a mile was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.
Kristina Hensley, 35, was given the maximum sentence by Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth.
Hensley, of Higginsport, pleaded guilty in February to involuntary manslaughter and failure to stop after an accident in the death last August of Jae Cho.
The judge called the autopsy photos and report detailing Cho's death "ghastly" and said the court had no choice in the sentence, given the circumstances.
He said Hensley didn't just hit Cho, 31, but dragged him to a "horrible death," the Hamilton JournalNews newspaper reported.
The judge said the pictures were "very hard to look at," the paper reported.
Hensley told police Cho touched her inappropriately after she was called to perform a private show at his home in Monroe, about 25 miles north of Cincinnati.
Jumped in front of car
She said he jumped in front of her SUV as she fled and she didn't know he was stuck underneath it.
Police said she drove about a mile to a gas station before stopping.
Hensley originally was charged with murder, aggravated robbery, theft and failure to stop. She pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors.
Assistant prosecutor Brad Burress told The Associated Press that he was pleased with the sentence and hoped it would bring "closure" to Cho's family.
Hensley's attorneys had urged the judge to give her community control, often called probation and involving options such as community service or electronic monitoring, or to sentence her to the minimum three years in prison with credit for the 334 days served since her arrest.
'Economic hardship'
They had told the judge in a memorandum that she had been the sole income provider for her three sons, ages 13, 8 and 7 "opting to work as a dancer due to economic hardship in an economy that had nothing else to offer her."
"She would sit in a parking lot waiting for a call to do a show, travel alone to a show, go alone to a stranger's home to perform and was expected to collect the money, perform a show and leave without incident," the memorandum said, according to the JournalNews.
They also said she didn't intend to cause Cho's death and had shown remorse.
They didn't immediately return telephone calls seeking comment on the sentencing Thursday.