Springfield man who had sex with a disabled teen in YMCA hot tub gets prison time

Show Caption Hide Caption The different types of felony classifications There are six different types of felony classifications in Missouri and they carry a range of different punishments.

A Springfield man was sentenced Thursday to prison time for having sex with a mentally-disabled teen in a YMCA hot tub.

Matthew Woolfolk, 33, was found guilty in February of three counts of sexual assault after a bench trial in front of Judge Thomas Mountjoy.

On Thursday, Mountjoy sentenced Woolfolk to 5 years in prison.

Police said Woolfolk had sex with the 17-year-old victim in a hot tub at the Pat Jones YMCA on East Republic Road on Aug. 23, 2013, about 15 minutes after meeting her.

Woolfolk allegedly told investigators in 2013 he knew the girl was lower-functioning and that she looked 12.

MORE: Man sexually assaulted teen with mental disability in 2013 at Springfield YMCA

At Woolfolk's trial in 2017, the prosecutor and public defender sparred over the idea of consent.

Nathan Chapman, an assistant Greene County prosecutor, said that while the victim was old enough to have sex in Missouri, her mental disability meant she had difficulty understanding sex.

Just because the victim did not fight back does not mean she was giving consent, Chapman said.

Woolfolk's attorney, Matt Arens, said the victim did have the mental capacity to provide consent.

Arens pointed out the victim finished high school and has a job.

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The victim testified at trial that she didn't want to have sex with Woolfolk but she did so because she was scared and she didn't understand what was going on.

Ultimately, Judge Mountjoy ruled that Woolfolk had sexually assaulted the victim.

The maximum sentence on each of Woolfolk's convictions was 10 years in prison.

Chapman said he requested the five-year sentence on Thursday, and Woolfolk's defense attorney asked for probation.

Chapman said the victim was brave throughout the court proceedings and made an impactful statement at Thursday's hearing.