Lexington man charged with sexual assault of minor, allegedly had evidence on his phone

A Lexington man appeared in Fayette District Court on Monday for five sexual assault charges alleged against him.

Eric Shepherd, 27, of Lexington, is charged with second-degree rape, two charges of promoting a sexual performance by a minor, distributing matter portraying sexual performance by a minor over age 12, and use of a minor under age 16 in a sex performance.

According to court documents, Shepherd sexually assaulted a 12-year-old. The minor allegedly confirmed that the assault happened and that Shepherd recorded the sexual assault on his own cell phone, according to court records.

He then sent the videos to the victim, according to court documents. The videos were recovered of two separate locations displaying explicit sexual content in an obscene manner.

Shepherd was arrested on Friday and appeared in court Monday for an arraignment before Judge Bruce Bell. Bell entered a not guilty on Shepherd’s behalf to the crimes alleged against him and appointed him a public defender.

He is scheduled to reappear in court on May 26.