Man who kidnapped, killed woman, and left body in freezer pleads guilty to raping 2 children

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (TCN) -- A man on death row for killing a woman and leaving her body in his freezer recently admitted to raping two children in a separate crime.

According to the Anderson County District Attorney General's Office, Sean Finnegan entered a guilty plea on Aug. 25 to rape of a child regarding two children, as well as 13 charges of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. A judge sentenced him to 50 years in prison, which will run consecutively to his existing death penalty sentence.

Finnegan was convicted in August 2024 of "11 of the 13 charges against him related to the kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of Jennifer Paxton and the abuse of her corpse." He was sentenced to death for murder, as well as an additional 45-year sentence for the other crimes in the case. Since his conviction, he has been in custody on death row at Tennessee's Riverbend Maximum Security Prison.

The district attorney general's office said Finnegan's co-defendant in both cases, Rebecca Dishman, entered a plea in connection with Jennifer Paxton's death and in the separate case related to the rape of two children. She reportedly testified against Finnegan in the murder trial and remains in custody.

According to prosecutors, Dishman fled her and Finnegan's home in August 2020 to find help for domestic violence and shelter. Following her report, investigators reportedly discovered Paxton's frozen body. Through the investigation, authorities also uncovered evidence that Finnegan and Dishman had raped two minors and recorded portions of it.

In a statement, District Attorney General Dave Clark said, "Today’s plea recognizes the additional crimes Sean Finnegan and Rebecca Dishman committed against these young victims. They deserved justice just as Jennifer Paxton did."

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