PRISON Sapp paroled after serving 8 months of sex crime sentence

YOUNGSTOWN -- A judge in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court granted judicial release from prison for Larry Sapp, 46, who was convicted earlier this year on gross sexual imposition charges.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum ordered Sapp released after serving eight months of a three-year prison sentence for improperly touching a female relative from 1997 to 2000. Judicial release is the legal term for what was formerly called shock probation. He will be on parole for five years.
The judge said Monday that any future visitation between Sapp and members of his family would be a decision of the domestic relations court.
Sapp, of Struthers, was tried on the charges in July 2002, but Judge Krichbaum declared a mistrial when jurors were unable to unanimously agree on a verdict.
The victim in the case testified during the trial that Sapp had improperly touched her, but admitted on the witness stand that she had recanted the accusation to Sapp's lawyers.
The county prosecutor's office didn't dismiss the case after the mistrial, and Sapp wouldn't plead guilty to the charges, the judge said.
Defense lawyers and the prosecutors eventually worked out a plea agreement, ensuring that Sapp would serve some time in prison.
Sapp pleaded guilty in January to eight counts of gross sexual imposition, and the judge sentenced him in March to three years in prison.