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Campbell man jailed for abduction, attempted rape
YOUNGSTOWN
A Campbell man will spend the next 18 years in prison after having been found guilty of charges related to the attempted rape and abduction of a Youngstown woman last year.
Gary Freeman, of 12th Street, had been on trial before Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Freeman had been charged with two counts of kidnapping, attempted rape and receiving stolen property.
A jury found Freeman guilty of the attempted rape charge, receiving stolen property and one kidnapping charge.
Judge Durkin sentenced Freeman on Monday to 10 years for kidnapping, eight years for attempted rape and 18 months for receiving stolen property. The 10- and eight-year sentences will be served consecutively. The 18-month sentence will be served concurrently with the other prison time.
A South Side woman told police Freeman pulled alongside her on Market Street about 2:35 a.m. June 10 after she left a South Side bar.
Freeman reportedly said, “I like a thick woman,” then told her to get into the car.
The woman told police she believed Freeman had a gun, which later was determined to be a stun gun.
She said Freeman drove, stunning her with the gun several times, to a spot in Warren where he again stunned her several more times then beat her about the face.
Freeman attempted to remove the woman’s pants and underclothes while calling her demeaning names. The woman said Freeman then tried to lick various parts of her body.
Police questioned the woman while she was still in the hospital reportedly upset and crying. She said the only reason she escaped the attack was because Freeman’s attention was diverted by a passing car.
Atty. Mark LaVelle, representing Freeman, questioned why police did not check key evidence in the case for fingerprints, including the stun gun Freeman used the night of the attack.