Man gets 6 years after plea in rape case

YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown man accused of raping two young girls received six years in prison.

Judge John M. Durkin imposed the sentence today in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Lynn Perry, 63, of East Wood Street entered an Alford plea, in which he did not admit to the criminal acts and asserted his innocence, on two counts of sexual battery.

The judge sentenced Perry to three years on each count, to be served consecutively.

The prosecutor had asked for a 10-year sentence.

Perry entered the plea to avoid potential punishment at trial.

Perry; his Pastor, Raymond Mason; and his attorney all stressed Perry’s innocence and described him as a religious man.

A 2015 indictment charged Perry with two counts each of rape and gross sexual imposition of two girls aged 6 and 7 years old.

If a jury convicted him of either rape, law would have required Judge Durkin to impose a life sentence.