Baby sitter pleads guilty to rape of four

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A woman charged with sexually assaulting four children she baby-sat over several years was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of rape.

Barbara Brooks, 64, of the Cincinnati suburb of Colerain Township, entered the pleas and was sentenced in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

Brooks had pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition and could have spent the rest of her life in prison if convicted of all counts. Her trial was scheduled for next month.

Brooks’ attorney, Thomas Koustmer, confirmed the plea and sentence but said he had no further comment.

Prosecutors said two of the accusers told police in 2011 that Brooks sexually abused them while baby-sitting between 2000 and 2007. A prosecutor’s spokesman said Friday that the exact ages of the children that Brooks was charged with molesting could not be released, but they were all under the age of 13 at the time and are now adults.

Brooks has been in jail since her June 2012 arrest and will receive credit for time already served. The designated Tier 3 sex offender will be required after her release to register for the rest of her life with the sheriff’s office in the county where she resides, prosecutor’s spokeswoman Julie Wilson said.