MAHONING COUNTY Man sentenced to prison for obsession with girl, 12

The defendant wants to seek sex-offender treatment while he is in prison.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Smith Township man who was obsessed with a 12-year-old girl is going to prison for engaging in improper conduct with her.
Glenn E. McDaniel, 40, of Lake Park Boulevard, pleaded guilty Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to importuning, or badgering with numerous requests for inappropriate activity, and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
Judge James C. Evans sentenced him to 18 months in prison for each charge, with the terms to be served consecutively.
"There is no doubt in my mind that maximum, consecutive sentencing is the only remedy applicable in this case," Judge Evans said.
Under Ohio law, the 340 days McDaniel has spent in the county jail waiting for disposition of his case will be applied toward his prison sentence.
At the request of defense attorney Charles E. Curry, the judge will recommend that McDaniel be placed in the Southeastern Correctional Institution in Lancaster, Ohio, which has a treatment program for sex offenders.
"He really wants to get that help," Curry said.
What's behind charges
Assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko said McDaniel wrote several letters containing sexual content to the 12-year-old victim between January and March 2003. In the letters, McDaniel described how he enjoyed seeing the girl in thong underwear.
McDaniel also bought the girl four pairs of thong underwear, some cigarettes and other inappropriate gifts, court documents say.
The girl's brothers apparently found the letters and gifts and alerted their parents. The victim lives near McDaniel in western Mahoning County.
Judge Evans labeled McDaniel a habitual sex offender, which means that once he is released from prison, he will have to register his address with authorities in his home community each year for 20 years.
McDaniel's charges were leveled against him while he was on probation for previous, unrelated charges. In September 2000, he pleaded guilty to corrupting a minor and possessing drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors said that in that case, he gave a 14-year-old girl marijuana in exchange for oral sex.
In November 2000, Judge Evans sentenced him to one year in prison, then released him on shock probation for five years in July 2001. McDaniel was indicted on the new charges in April 2003.
Because the new charges violated terms of his probation, Judge Evans sent McDaniel back to prison for the balance of his original sentence.
bjackson@vindy.com