MAHONING COURT Man pleads guilty to raping girl

The sexual assaults took place behind a Boardman pizza shop.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Boardman man faces from eight to 25 years in prison for the rape of a young girl in 2002.
Kelly Brandon, 36, of Applecrest Court entered guilty pleas to two counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition Monday before Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Brandon originally was indicted on rape charges that carried penalties of 15 years to life imprisonment. Police accused him of raping a 12-year-old girl twice and having sexual contact with her July 25, 2002, behind a Boardman pizza shop.
Dawn Krueger, an assistant county prosecutor, and defense lawyer Michael Gollings, worked on a plea agreement that amended the indictment to remove language that Brandon, by threat of force, compelled the girl to submit.
Forcible rape of a child carries the stiffer punishment of possible life imprisonment.
Rape is a first-degree felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The maximum prison term for gross sexual imposition is five years.
Krueger recommended Brandon serve a total of eight years in prison on the first rape charge, with the time for the second rape and the gross sexual imposition crime served concurrently to the first charge. He would be eligible for parole in five years.
She also recommended that Brandon be labeled a sexually oriented offender, which means Brandon, once released from prison, must register his address with the sheriff in the county where he lives, and he cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school.
Judge Cronin ordered a presentence report from the Ohio Adult Parole Authority be completed before sentencing.
The judge told Brandon she doesn't have to take the prosecutor's recommendation. She told Brandon that she could sentence him to the maximum time on all the charges and run them consecutively. If so, Brandon could face 25 years in prison.