Defense lawyer resents comments

A Salineville man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A sentencing in a child rape case began with defense Atty. Lawrence Stacey II saying his client "hopes to somehow begin the healing process" and ended with the lawyer's saying he resented some comments by the victim's mother.
William Jones, 32, of Salineville, pleaded guilty to a charge of rape for having sex with a girl, now 14, between late 2002 and early 2004.
As part of a plea bargain, a force specification was dropped that lowered the possible maximum sentence from 25 years to 10 years. Jones had no other criminal record.
The victim's mother read a long statement from the victim Friday during the sentencing hearing before Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge David Tobin.
"He stole my childhood," the mother read.
The girl said in the statement that she has suicidal thoughts, flashbacks about the attacks, and has difficulty trusting people.
The girl wrote that sex offenders "should be locked behind bars for the rest of their lives."
The mother also read her own victim's statement, saying that the girl agreed to the reduced charge so she would not have testify and be questioned about every detail of the abuse.
The mother said she did not like being pressured to accept the reduced charge. She said she hoped Atty. Stacey's family would never have to be in that position.
Reaction
After those comments, Stacey slapped papers loudly at the defense table.
Assistant County Prosecutor Timothy McNicol said that in a pre-sentence investigation, Jones was "full of excuses about the crime."
Judge Tobin sentenced Jones to the maximum 10-year sentence.
After the hearing ended, Stacey went to the back of the courtroom and told the mother he did not appreciate her comments about his family.
The mother was with several children. It was not clear if the victim was among them. The family was ushered from the courtroom by county workers.
Before leaving the courtroom, Stacey approached reporters, pointed a pen at them, and said he did not want to read about the events.
Other sentencings
In other sentencings, Judge Tobin gave two consecutive six-year sentences on two rape charges to Robert J. Davis, 55, of Girard.
He was indicted for raping two girls, now 11 and 13, in 2004.
Judge Tobin also sentenced Paul Ice, 37, of East Liverpool, to two concurrent 15-month prison sentences on two felony counts of pandering obscene materials. He was also sentenced to 60 days in jail on a charge of voyeurism.
He was indicted for secretly videotaping a 16-year-old girl and then transferring the images to the very end of commercial videos that were rented from a video store.
wilkinson@vindy.com