The rapist abducted and repeatedly assaulted a Warren woman.

September 11, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — A 34-year-old Warren man is going to prison for 17 years after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of rape and one count each of kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed the sentence Wednesday on Alvin Toles of Miller Street, who committed the offenses Dec. 22, 2007.

Toles pushed his way into a Warren woman’s house as she opened her door to leave for work, raped and abducted her and drove her to various other places, where he raped her again in the car, then drove to a North Jackson truck stop, where the car got stuck in the mud, said Dawn Cantalamessa, assistant county prosecutor.

After telephoning for a tow truck, Toles entered the women’s restroom, where he pulled the victim under a partition and out of a toilet stall, Cantalamessa said.

Having been called by a truck stop clerk, police arrived to arrest Toles as he struggled with another woman from whom he had grabbed truck keys.

“This happened two days before Christmas, and now, every Christmas for the rest of our lives, this is what we’ll think about,” the rape victim’s fianc told the judge.

The victim has recurring nightmares that cause her to wake up screaming, hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep since the attack and sometimes can barely function because of sleep deprivation, her fianc said.

Defense lawyer Anthony Meranto said his client has suffered from drug abuse and mental illness, and Meranto urged the judge to adopt the prosecutor’s 17-year sentence recommendation.

“Your actions were horrendous,” Judge Evans told Toles, who apologized for his crimes. “Maybe you will have nightmares too when you recognize the seriousness of the offenses,” the judge added.

After he leaves prison, Toles will be on parole for five years, and he must register as a sex offender with the sheriff quarterly for life.

Toles will get credit for the 264 days he has already been jailed.