Bolivar man pleads guilty to arson, insurance fraud

A Bolivar man serving a 20-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of a child pleaded guilty Monday to burning a vehicle for insurance money in a separate case.

Jerry Allen Boring, 60, was ordered to serve a concurrent one- to two-year prison sentence and an additional year on parole in connection with an incident two years ago in which, police said, he and another man set fire to a pickup and collected nearly $4,900 in insurance on the vehicle.

According to court records, Boring claimed he no longer wanted to repair the truck and enlisted a neighbor, Allen K. Palmer, 37, of Fairfield to set fire to the vehicle. Palmer told police he lit a flare under a seat in Boring’s truck to set it ablaze.

They used proceeds from an insurance settlement to purchase a new vehicle, police said.

Boring pleaded guilty to felony charges of criminal solicitation to commit arson to collect insurance, arson and insurance fraud.

Palmer was charged with conspiracy and arson and remains free on unsecured bail as he awaits disposition of charges.

Boring was sentenced this year to serve 10 to 20 years in prison in an unrelated case involving the sexual assault of a teen girl.

Boring was found guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault in connection with accusations made by a 16-year-old accuser who claimed she was the victim of sexual assaults that started in 2017.

In addition to his prison sentence, a judge ruled Boring was a violent sexual predator and imposed a lifetime requirement that he register as a convicted sex offender.