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Lake Milton man gets 10-year term for sex crimes against kids under 10
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Baker
YOUNGSTOWN
A Lake Milton man will spend the next 10 years behind bars for a list of sexual crimes involving children under age 10.
Robert Baker, 36, entered guilty pleas to 10 counts of rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition, one count of attempted gross sexual imposition, voyeurism and disseminating material harmful to children. He appeared Wednesday before Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Under the terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Baker would spend 10 years in prison on all the charges. Judge D’Apolito accepted the plea agreement.
Baker will get credit for 38 days he spent in the county jail waiting on the case to go to trial.
Natasha Frenchko, an assistant county prosecutor, said the charges against Baker date back to 1999 when the first of the sexual crimes took place. The most recent crime, she said, happened in 2007.
All victims in the case are female family members or close family friends of Baker’s.
Frenchko said entering into the plea agreement means the young victims in the case will avoid testifying in court. She added that Baker cannot appeal his conviction and sentence.
“I spoke with the victim families, and after hearing their concerns about their children testifying, we decided to enter into the agreement,” she said.
Frenchko said the plea will give the families relief that Baker is serving a lengthy sentence without anymore trauma to his victims. Family members of the victims seem happy with the agreement and sentence.
“I understand what an agreed-upon sentence means is, and I am relieved that my daughter does not have to testify,” said one victim’s mother.
Another mother of one of the victims asked the court to follow the 10-year recommendation so that Baker can attempt to pay for the innocence he stole from her daughter.
“He has stolen something he can never give back. The amount of harm he has done cannot be expressed in words,” the woman said.
Judge D’Apolito added that Baker will have to register as a sex offender once he’s released from prison.