Niles man gets 8 years in prison for 2009 assault, kidnapping

YOUNGSTOWN — Prosecutors asked that a Niles man spend five years in prison for kidnapping and felonious assault, but Joshua Hansen will spend a bit more time than that behind bars.

Hansen, 26, of Youll Street, appeared today before Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for sentencing on the two felony charges after entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors in February. The maximum sentence on the charges is 18 years.

Hansen, represented by Atty. Reese Cartwright-Jones, was originally charged with rape, felonious assault and kidnapping. The rape charge was dropped under the plea agreement. Prosecutors, under that agreement, recommended a sentence of five years, but Judge Evans gave Hansen an eight-year prison term.

Carla Baldwin Fields, an assistant county prosecutor, said Hansen was at an Austintown club in November 2009 when he met a woman who asked him for a ride home. The victim refused to have sex, and that angered Hansen, the prosecutor said.

Baldwin Fields said Hansen beat the woman badly.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com