Man draws 30 years for rape conviction

The defendant was previously convicted for his role in a gang rape.

staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — A 48-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after a jury that deliberated only one hour convicted him of three counts of rape and three counts of sexual battery.

The victim, now 23, is a female relative who was only 14 when the offenses began.

Anthony Johnson, of Halleck Street, drew 10 years to life in prison on each rape count to be served consecutively when Judge Timothy E. Franken of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced him Wednesday just after the jury returned its guilty verdicts.

The sexual battery charges merged with the rape charges for sentencing purposes.

The maximum sentence on each rape count was extended from 10 years to a life term because the judge found Johnson guilty of a sexual predator specification, which stems from Johnson’s 1981 conviction for his role in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl.

“We believe that the defendant is likely to engage in sexually violent crimes in the future,” Natasha K. Frenchko, assistant county prosecutor, told Judge Franken before he imposed the sentence.

The offenses Johnson was convicted of on Wednesday occurred between 1998 and 2007 in his residence.

“The defendant deserves everything that’s coming to him,” the victim told Judge Franken.

In the trial, which began Monday, a paternity test was presented to the jury of seven women and five men showing Johnson was the father of a baby born to the victim last year.

“This case was straightforward,” and the jury was “very attentive,” Frenchko said, explaining why the jury reached its verdicts so quickly. “We normally don’t have situations where the perpetrators impregnate their victims” in sex crime cases, she observed.

“In this situation, we had more than her statement. We had a paternity test showing that, as a result of the final incident of sexual abuse, she gave birth to this child,” Frenchko added.

Johnson’s lawyer, Thomas Zena, said an appeal will be filed.

If he ever leaves prison, Johnson will be on parole for five years, Judge Franken said.