Sherry Lyden, 28, of Hickory, will serve an active prison sentence of at least 12 years following her conviction for statutory sex offense with a child during Burke County Superior Court on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
The Honorable Robert C. Ervin, Superior Court Judge from Burke County, imposed the prison term of 12 to 19 years for Lyden after she entered a guilty plea.
She will serve the prison sentence in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
The offense occurred January 1, 2018, and came to light as a result of a homicide investigation in August 2018. During that time, David Barnes was arrested and charged with the death of Roger Hoglan, and a forensic search was conducted of Barnes’ phone. The search uncovered images that showed sexual activity between Lyden and a 4-year-old female victim.
Further investigation revealed that Lyden sent the images of the sexual activity to Barnes from her phone. Murder and sexual exploitation cases against Barnes are still pending, and he is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Detective Isaac Propst led the investigation for the Burke County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Michelle Lippert handled prosecution for the State.
CONTACT: Nathan Key
Phone: 828-695-6193
Email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org