Former UK player convicted of rape granted parole

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A former University of Kentucky men’s basketball player will be getting out of prison after serving several years behind bars for rape.

The Kentucky Department of Corrections says the parole board granted parole for 68-year-old Tom Payne on Tuesday.

He is scheduled to be released in January 2019.

Payne has been in and out of prison for multiple sex crimes.

He is at the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange, where he has been serving a life sentence for a 1977 rape conviction and an additional five-year sentence for holding a woman against her will.

Payne was the first black player on the University of Kentucky basketball team. He also played with the Atlanta Hawks during the 1971-72 season.