Benchea convicted of raping stepgranddaughter, expected to get life

WARREN

When he is sentenced April 28, Rick Benchea is expected to learn he will never spend another day as a free man.

Jurors found him guilty Thursday of 12 counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition after deliberating only about an hour in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

He was convicted of raping his stepgranddaughter when she was between 8 and 11 years old and molesting her when she was 7 dating back to 2009 and ending last summer, when she told authorities.

Each rape count carries a penalty of life in prison. Some carry a possible sentence of life with no parole, and others carry a penalty of life with parole eligibility after 25 years.

For Jamie Fellows, Benchea’s stepdaughter and mother of the girl, now 12, that kind of sentence will be a huge relief because it will mean he “will never see the light of day.”

“I’m so relieved. When you put it in 12 strangers’ hands, you never know,” she said of the jury of seven women and five men.

“I’m so happy. I was so scared,” the girl said of the verdict after Benchea, 62, was led back to the county jail, where he has been since charges were filed last summer. “His defense attorney called me a liar, and I don’t lie ever,” she said.

Read more about the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.