COLUMBIANA CO. Man pleads guilty to raping girl, 4

The man is charged in Columbiana and Mahoning counties.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A Salem-area man will be sentenced later this summer after pleading guilty to raping and molesting a 4-year-old girl.
Joshua Baird, 27, of Salem-Unity Road, Salem, pleaded guilty to rape and gross sexual imposition recently before Judge C. Ashley Pike of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.
Baird also is charged with sex crimes against a child in Mahoning County.
In the Columbiana County case, Baird entered the pleas as part of an agreement reached with prosecutors, who are recommending that he be sentenced to eight years for the rape and three years for the gross sexual imposition, assistant county Prosecutor Tim McNicol said Tuesday.
It's also recommended that the sentences be served consecutively, McNicol said.
The maximum sentence for the rape is 10 years in prison. The maximum for the gross sexual imposition is five years.
Baird is to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 4.
Authorities say Baird raped and molested the girl, whom he knew, from January 2002 through October 2002.
Baird also is charged with raping a 2-year-old Boardman girl during a Thanksgiving get-together at a Beaver Township home.
Baird was a friend to the hosts of the holiday gathering.
The Mahoning County charge, which bears a maximum life sentence because of the circumstances surrounding the crime, is pending.
Baird is being held in the Mahoning County Jail.
A hearing is set for 11 a.m. July 7 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
leigh@vindy.com