Man sentenced for having sex with girl, 12

Staff report

WARREN

The second of two young men charged with having sex with the 12-year-old sister of a fellow Lordstown High School basketball player in 2009 has been sentenced to three years in prison.

William A. Wright, 19, of Mae Drive Southwest, Lordstown, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of gross sexual imposition.

Before before Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court imposed the sentence, Wright told the court that he realizes what he did was wrong. Diane Barber, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said 12-year-olds are not legally old enough to consent to sex.

Michael A. Lee, 19, of Lyntz Road, Lordstown, received a three-year prison sentence Feb. 15 after he pleaded guilty to the same charges for committing the same offenses against the same girl.

The offenses occurred in March 2009 in the girl’s home, when Wright and Lee were 18-year-old students at Lordstown High School.

Wright and Lee were indicted on rape charges that carried a possible life- prison sentence but had their charges reduced in exchange for a guilty plea.