Man to be sentenced in July in Canfield stalking case

Staff report

Youngstown

A Painesville man accused of stalking and harassing a Canfield woman will be sentenced for his crimes in July.

Robert P. McLaughlin, of Marsh Lane in Painesville, pleaded guilty before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on May 12 to three counts of pandering obscenity and three counts of possessing criminal tools.

Each charge is a fifth-degree felony, and McLaughlin could face up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 per count.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 19.

McLaughlin already is serving a six-month sentence in Mahoning County jail after pleading guilty in December in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield to case-related misdemeanor charges of stalking and telephone harassment.

He was arrested in his home Dec. 8 after Canfield police executed a search warrant. A police report says they found photos of the victim, pornographic material, stacks of papers listing names and addresses of schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as various area businesses; computer equipment and business cards with the victim’s ex-boyfriend’s name on them.

Police believe McLaughlin had been harassing the victim, a Canfield resident and educator, since March 2010 by sending emails threatening to reveal personal information about her.

In addition to the emails, letters containing a web site with fabricated sexual information about the victim and business cards stating the victim would perform specific sexual acts were mailed to business owners, school administrators and teachers throughout Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, and parts of Pennsylvania, the report said.