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Niles man to spend 8 years in prison for assault
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Joshua Hansen
YOUNGSTOWN
Prosecutors asked that a Niles man spend five years in prison for kidnapping and felonious assault, but Joshua Hansen will spend more time than that behind bars.
Hansen, 26, of Youll Street, appeared Thursday 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. The woman at first told police she had not been raped but later said she had been sexually assaulted.
Hansen apologized to the victim, her family, his family and his 2-year-old daughter. He asked the court for leniency in punishment.
“The bottom line is I did break the law, and I should be punished for it. That punishment is up to you [the judge],” he said. I will not stop trying to better myself.”
Judge Evans told Hansen he had reviewed his criminal record and pointed out that criminal activity involving Hansen began when Hansen was a juvenile with charges such as burglary, aggravated menacing, arson and assault.
The judge also cited crimes in Hansen’s adult record such as receiving stolen property, felonious assault, aggravated assault, misuse of a credit card and probation violations.
“Your record is horrendous, yet you stand here telling me you made a mistake. How many times can you make a mistake and not expect society to ask to be paid back?” Judge Evans said.
The victim in the case did not want to speak to the court personally, but did attend the hearing and did offer a written statement that was read into the record by Baldwin Fields. In that statement the woman said the attack has affected every facet of her life and she does not believe Hansen cares about how her life has been changed.
“I wonder every day if I will ever be normal again. ... What started out as a day to enjoy with friends has turned into a nightmare. No one should ever endure such a tragedy,” the victim wrote. “I am in a constant state of paranoia.”
Hansen will receive credit for the 73 days he spent in the county jail after his arrest.