YOUNGSTOWN Man enters guilty plea to charges of raping girls

An assistant prosecutor recommended that the city man be evaluated to determine if he should be classified as a sexual predator.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Winona Drive man faces 10 years in prison in a rape case involving three young girls.
David J. Perry Sr., 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to two counts of rape. He was originally charged with three counts, but prosecutors dismissed one as part of a plea agreement.
Prosecutors also dropped specifications that could have resulted in Perry's being sentenced to life in prison had he been convicted of the charges.
Deena Calabrese, an assistant county prosecutor, recommended that Perry be sentenced to 10 years on each count and that they be served at the same time. She also recommended that Perry be evaluated to determine whether he is a sexual predator.
Calabrese said the victims' mother agreed to the plea bargain to spare the girls from having to testify in court.
"They are very deeply traumatized by all this," Calabrese said of the girls, who were 13, 11 and 9 when the assaults happened in 1999.
Defense attorney Mark Lavelle asked that Perry and all three victims undergo psychological evaluations before sentencing, which Judge James C. Evans approved.