Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a convicted sex offender accused of sexually assaulting and killing a 17-year-old southern Indiana girl.

The News and Tribune reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/Z3O27N ) that prosecutors made the request during a hearing for 49-year-old Richard Carley Hooten Jr. of Clarksville. He's charged in Clark Circuit Court with the March 2 rape and murder of a neighbor, 17-year-old Tara Willenborg.

Hooten has admitted to reporters that he raped and murdered Willenborg in the Clarksville apartment where she lived with her boyfriend. He's also charged with criminal deviate conduct and being a habitual offender.

Hooten served 15 years in a Georgia prison on convictions of rape, aggravated sodomy and aggravated assault. He also has a previous Clark County conviction for sexual battery and residential entry.