COLUMBIANA COUNTY Businessman gets 180 days in jail for sexual misdemeanor charges

Community service and three years' probation are also part of the sentence.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A judge sentenced Salem businessman Arthur Spack to 180 days in the county jail on sexual misdemeanor charges.
Spack, 57, of Fink Road, Kensington, appeared before Judge David Tobin of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court on Friday. Spack is to report Jan. 2 to the Columbiana County Jail to begin his sentence.
Judge Tobin explained the sentence as 60 days each for five counts, with 24 days suspended. That means Spack could have spent 300 days in jail, but Judge Tobin suspended 120 days.
The judge did not include work release in the terms but could consider it after a few months.
On his release, Spack will serve 120 days of house arrest, 40 hours of community service in the Salem area, and three years of probation. He must also continue counseling.
Spack pleaded no contest Nov. 17 to five third-degree misdemeanor charges. In a plea agreement, the charges were reduced from compelling prostitution, a second-degree felony; one count of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony; and three counts of sexual imposition, each a misdemeanor. Spack had entered innocent pleas to the original charges in March.
September plea
On Sept. 17, Spack pleaded no contest to charges of soliciting sex for hire, sexual contact with a person 13 to 16 years of age, and three counts of sexual contact or reckless behavior offensive to a person not his wife.
Judge Tobin declared Spack to be guilty of the lesser charges. As originally charged, Spack could have faced up to nine years and six months in prison.
The charges stem from offenses alleged to have occurred between July 2001 and January 2003.
The compelling prostitution charge, reduced to solicitation, stems from allegations that Spack offered a 15-year-old girl money for a sex act in 2001. The offense is said to have occurred at Mimi's Cafe on Penn Avenue in Salem, which is owned by Spack.
Spack also owned an insurance agency in Salem. He resigned as mayor of Summitville, saying he needed to concentrate on his defense.
Assistant Prosecutor Tim McNicol said he and the victims are satisfied with the sentence.
Defense Attorney John McCall of Canton called the sentence excessive. He said he may appeal the sentence or ask the judge to reconsider the decision.
tullis@vindy.com