Man pleads to attempted rape, is sentenced to 3 years in prison

The prison term is
nonappealable.

YOUNGSTOWN — A man who faced up to 1111⁄2 years in prison on 10 rape counts and one count each of kidnapping and gross sexual imposition has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted rape and been sentenced to three years in prison.

Andre Mason, 37, of Detroit Avenue, entered his guilty plea as he was to go to trial Thursday, and Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court immediately imposed the nonappealable three-year term the prosecution and defense had agreed upon.

The offenses were allegedly committed against a 28-year-old Youngstown woman, who had a prior dating relationship with Mason, over a six-hour period June 17, 2007, at the Detroit Avenue location, said Dawn Krueger, assistant county prosecutor.

The prosecution’s evidence included Mason’s DNA, which was found on the woman, photographs of her injuries, and a polygraph Mason failed, Krueger said.

Mason, however, contended the sex was consensual, and Krueger said the prosecution made the plea deal to avoid the time, expense and risk of a jury trial and the ordeal of having the victim testify in a “he-said, she-said case.”

Mason also is charged in another case with a federal probation violation, Krueger said.

Defense Atty. J. Gerald Ingram said his client weighed the risk of being convicted and sentenced to a lengthy prison term against a three-year agreed-upon sentence, and decided to plead guilty to the single reduced count, with the prosecution dropping all other counts.

After his release, Mason will be on parole for five years. He will be classified as a sex offender and must register his address quarterly with the sheriff for life.