UPDATE | RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TENNESSEE — A Jackson, Tennessee man already listed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Sex Offender Registry is nearing the end of his legal road after another attempt to overturn a Rutherford County child rape conviction was denied.
Benjamin Hartshaw was convicted in 2020 by a Rutherford County jury on ten felony counts, including six counts of rape of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual battery, stemming from the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in March 2018. The crimes occurred while Hartshaw was visiting Murfreesboro to celebrate his 57th birthday. The trial was presided over by Rutherford County Criminal Court Judge David Bragg.
After the guilty verdict, Hartshaw remained in Murfreesboro awaiting sentencing, which took place in December 2020. He was then transferred from the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center into the state prison system, where he has remained incarcerated…