James Boggs, the former owner and operator of Gem City All-Stars, has been sentenced to five years in prison for having sex with a minor.

On April 9, Boggs pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and was sentenced to five years each on both charges by Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Christen Finley, with the sentences to run at the same time for a total of five years in a state prison.

Five years is the maximum penalty for third-degree felony sexual battery.

He was given credit off the sentence for the 304 days that he has been held in jail. After he is released, Boggs will have to register with the sheriff of the county he lives in as a Tier III sex offender, the highest level of convicted sex offender under Ohio law.

Boggs, of Greenup, Kentucky, was arrested on June 15, 2018.  The parents of minor boy filed a report with the Ironton Police Department on May 31, 2018.

Boggs was indicted on 26 counts of sexual battery in June 2018 by the Lawrence County Grand Jury, the number of times it was alleged Boggs engaged in sexual contact with an unidentified 16-year-old male, while Boggs was the boy’s athletic or other type of coach.

The allegations were that the sexual contact happened “on or about March 1, 2018 through May 31, 2018, in Lawrence County,” according to the indictment.

It is the policy of The Tribune not to identify minors or victims in sexual crimes.

The case against Boggs was originally scheduled for last November but it was delayed after the start of the trial was when he was set to go to the hospital for a medical procedure.