By WILL E. SANDERS
OCM News Service
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TIPP CITY - A Tipp City father faces 20 life sentences in addition to 20 more years at his sentencing hearing in June after he entered pleas of no contest and was found guilty of dozens of sex crimes last week, including 20 counts of rape involving a juvenile under the age of 10.

One day removed from his arraignment on a superceding indictment, Joel W. Pratt, 35, entered the no contest pleas to 20 counts of rape, three felony counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and two felony counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor.

Pratt committed the sexual offenses of rape at his Tipp City home between Sept. 14, 2010, through Sept. 4, 2011. The remaining five felonies transpired last year between October and December.

For each rape charge, Pratt could receive between 15 years to life in prison.

A presentence investigation was ordered in the case and Pratt, who remains held on a $100,000 bond, will be sentenced June 11 in common pleas court.

Pratt was taken into custody Dec. 22 by sheriff’s deputies after federal authorities and an investigation revealed the rape and child pandering allegations.

A search warrant executed at Pratt’s home resulted in a computer being seized as evidence and sexually explicit photographs were recovered from the system’s hard drive. Some of those images were taken off of the Internet while other photographs appeared to have been taken by Pratt, according to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.