MAHONING COUNTY Man gets prison in rape case

The victim turned to drugs and alcohol and attempted suicide after being raped.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tears welled in the woman's eyes as she told a judge how her daughter had been robbed of her innocence by a rapist.
The victim, who was 11 at the time, began using drugs and alcohol, and has tried to kill herself twice since she was sexually assaulted by Eric DeMarco of Hubbard, the woman said.
"She just basically grew up too fast," the woman said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I want my little girl back and I can't have that. He took that away from me."
DeMarco, 22, sat quietly with his head down as the woman spoke. When she finished, he apologized, then was sent to prison for eight years.
"I know that asking forgiveness is probably better than I deserve, but I'm here to ask for it," DeMarco said.
About the case
DeMarco pleaded guilty in February to four counts of rape. Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Krueger said he gave the girl alcoholic beverages and then had sex with her four times in August 2001.
She said the victim is friends with one of DeMarco's relatives. The assaults happened while they were all at a house on Leffingwell Road in Canfield Township.
A plea agreement between Krueger, DeMarco and defense attorney Ronald Knickerbocker called for DeMarco to get an eight-year sentence for each of the four counts, but that they run at the same time.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum said the deal was appropriate in this case because it spared the victim from having to testify about the assaults if the case had gone to trial. He said plea bargains are a "fact of life" and an important part of the judicial system.
"It is probably as disgusting to me as it is to the victim that you enjoy this benefit of the system," the judge told DeMarco.
By mutual agreement of the parties, DeMarco was labeled a sexually oriented offender, which means that he must register his whereabouts with the sheriff once a year for 10 years after he is released from prison.
bjackson@vindy.com