Aurora man charged with two counts of rape accepts plea deal

May 7 – MOUNT VERNON, Mo. – An Aurora man accused of raping two women within five days accepted a plea deal this week in which he would receive a consecutive six-year sentence with a judicial review after 120 days for demanded a possible suspended sentence.

Patrick O. Esh Jr., 21, pleaded guilty Monday in Lawrence County Circuit Court to two reduced counts of second-degree rape, requesting in a plea agreement that sentences be consecutive with judicial review following time in the state’s Sex Offender Assessment Division . Esh was convicted of two counts of first-degree rape.

Judge David Cole ordered Esh to be assessed ahead of the sentencing hearing on June 3.

Two female acquaintances reported to Aurora-Marionville Police on August 23, 2022 that they had been sexually abused by Esh. Probable cause affidavits state that one of the victims said he raped her on August 18 of this year and the other on August 23. The second victim said he did the same thing to her about five months earlier.