MAHONING COUNTY Man sent to prison for rapes

Prosecutors recommended a 25-year prison sentence.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Now that James Wells has answered to a judge for molesting a young girl, he knows he next must answer to God.
Wells, 41, of Seventh Street, was sentenced Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to eight years in prison. He had pleaded guilty in March to two counts of rape and five counts of gross sexual imposition.
Wells said his next -- and most important -- judgment will be by God, who will determine the fate of his eternal soul.
Visiting Judge Charles J. Bannon ordered that Wells serve his time in the Southeastern Ohio Correctional Institution in Lancaster, Ohio, which has a treatment program for sex offenders. Defense attorney John B. Juhasz said that was important.
"That's really what this poor guy needs," Juhasz said. "There is something inside of [Wells] that's eating at him and it's got to be addressed and dealt with."
The crime
Authorities say Wells engaged in sexual conduct with the girl, then 11, for six months, beginning in June 2002.
Juhasz said Wells knew what he'd done was wrong, so he admitted the acts to his wife, then to a counselor and eventually to authorities. He said Wells had no criminal record.
At his plea hearing in March, Wells referred to a Bible verse that says "the wicked shall not inherit the kingdom of God." He said "the wicked" specifically includes sexually immoral people.
"I fear for my soul," he said at the time.
Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Krueger had recommended a 25-year prison sentence as part of her plea agreement with Wells and Juhasz, but the judge opted for a considerably shorter term.
Judge Bannon sentenced Wells to four years on each count of gross sexual imposition and eight years for each of the two rape counts. All of the sentences will be served concurrently, meaning Wells will serve eight years behind bars.
Juhasz said that's a fair sentence because it adequately balances the need to punish Wells while protecting the victim and the public.
bjackson@vindy.com