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Sebring man gets 8 years for rape of intoxicated woman
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
A Sebring man convicted of having sex with and sexually abusing a woman too intoxicated to give proper consent will spend the next eight years in prison.
Aaron Robinson, 25, of New York Avenue, was sentenced by Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on one count of rape by impairment and one count of sexual abuse. The judge imposed a sentence of eight years on one count and five years on the second, to run concurrently.
Robinson also will be required to register with the county as a sexual offender for the remainder of his life after getting out of prison.
Gabriel Wildman, an assistant county prosecutor, said Robinson had been drinking at a party in April 2009 and later had sex with a woman who was intoxicated to the point where she could not function or keep her eyes open.
“This represents just a crime of opportunity. This defendant saw something he wanted, and he just took it,” said Wildman.
Wildman had asked the judge to impose a maximum sentence of 15 years on both counts.
Atty. Rhys Cartwright- Jones, representing Robinson, told the court the sentence should be less than the maximum because the incident happened under circumstances not likely to be repeated, and if alcohol had not been involved, the situation would not have been the same.
Cartwright-Jones asked the court to impose a sentence of three to five years on the charges.
Pamela Robinson, Aaron Robinson’s mother, tearfully asked the court to not impose the maximum sentence. She said Aaron Robinson is a good and loving person who helped raise her 13-year-old granddaughter.
Aaron Robinson refused to make a statement before sentencing.
The victim in the case did not appear in court for the sentencing.