Taney County Prosecuting Attorney, Jeffrey M. Merrell announced today that James W. Berryhill dob 3/9/1972 of Taneyville, Missouri entered a stand-up plea to the unclassified felony of forcible sodomy on February 21, 2007 in front of 38th Circuit Judge Mark Orr. In April of 2007, James Berryhill sexually assaulted and sodomized a twenty-four year old acquantence in the Casey Hole area of Forsyth, Missouri.

Formal Sentencing is set for April 17, 2008. By entering a stand-up or open plea, James W. Berryhill faces the full range of punishment of five (5) to thirty (30) years, or life imprisonment for the offense of forcible sodomy.