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Man gets 27 years for sex crimes against three girls
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man who impregnated 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister was sentenced Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to 27 years in prison.
Judge Maureen Sweeney went two years over a recommended 25-year sentence for Arnold Perry, 34, who pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree felony rape and a third-degree felony count of sexual battery for the attacks, which took place in 2015 and 2016 in Youngstown.
Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin told the judge Perry was a friend of the family of the victims. They let him stay with them when he didn’t have a home.
Instead, McLaughlin said, Perry abused their trust.
One of the twins had an abortion after her pregnancy was discovered, but the other two victims had to have their babies because their pregnancies were too far along when they were discovered, McLaughlin said.
“These girls will suffer the rest of their lives because of this,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said that Perry had been convicted of similar crimes as a juvenile but he continued the same pattern of behavior as an adult.
Defense attorney Mark Lavelle said the case was one of the most heinous he has ever handled but he asked for a sentence of 15 or 16 years. He said his client took responsibility and suffered from a brain injury as a child, which does not excuse his actions but prevents him from having any feelings about them.
The mother of the victims told the judge she is now raising two babies and neither Perry nor his family are helping with their care. At times, she was so emotional it was hard to understand what she was saying.
“I don’t even have a job,” she said. “I raise these babies.”
Perry apologized.
“I’m sorry for what I did,” Perry said. “I know now what I did was wrong. I wish I could take it back.”
When he is released from prison, Perry must also register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.