Due to the victim's age, a Defiance man convicted Monday of child sexual abuse was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Defiance County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Schmenk handed the mandatory sentence to Andrew Arps, 18, 700 Kiser Road, for rape, a first-degree felony. Arps, who pleaded guilty to the charge Monday morning, will be parole eligible in 10 years. State law required Schmenk to impose the sentence because the victim " a four-year-old girl " was less than 10 years of age.

Authorities said during Monday's hearing that Arps engaged in digital penetration at an apartment at 700 Kiser Road on Nov. 21. Because the sentence was mandatory, the court entertained only a few comments before Arps was sentenced. Arps said he was "sorry for everything. If I could take it back I would."
The victim's father, however, said Arps had "stolen my daughter's innocence. I hope for his sake he doesn't get parole. No amount of time he can spend in jail ... can make the hurt go away."

Arps' court-appointed attorney, Steve Sondergaard of Defiance, said his client understands his conduct and is remorseful. "I believe Mr. Arps understands how this not only impacts the victim, but himself and his family," said Sondergaard. "He's truly remorseful. He understands his wrongdoing."

Schmenk made no comment in pronouncing sentence while assistance county prosecuting attorney Morris Murray said the crime has made a "tremendous impact on the victim" and her parents.

Arps was arrested in November by Defiance police not long after the crime occurred. He was later indicted by a county grand jury in December for a single count of rape. The defendant has been incarcerated at CCNO on a $1 million bond.

Debs is already serving a life sentence without parole for the murders of policemen Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller in Moorabbin in 1998, a year after he murdered the teenager. His plea hearing will be held at a later date.

A former teacher charged with having sex with a 14-year-old middle school student and running off to Mexico with him pleaded guilty Wednesday to a sodomy charge.

Angela Renee Comer, 28, would serve 10 years in prison under her plea agreement, in which the prosecutor agreed to drop most other charges. Besides one count of third-degree sodomy, Comer pleaded guilty to one count of custodial interference.

She had faced up to 20 years on each of four counts of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor and up to five years each for two counts of third-degree sodomy.

Comer said in an interview with The Associated Press after the court hearing that she was glad to avoid a trial, which had been scheduled to start today.

"A trial is very stressful for everyone, and I just want this to be over," she said.

Comer entered the courtroom wearing jeans and an orange jail T-shirt and answered a series of questions from the judge before entering the plea.

Police said Comer had a sexual affair with the boy, who is now 16, and took him without his guardian's permission. Authorities found Comer, her young son and the teen in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on Jan. 10, 2006.

The boy's grandmother watched as Comer entered the plea. The boy, who was not in court Wednesday, was removed from her care after the incident and placed in a foster home, she said.

"I'm relieved that it's over. This has been going on for 16 months and I don't think anyone should have to wait that length of time. It's been very difficult for me," the grandmother said.

The Associated Press is not using the grandmother's name to protect the identity of the boy. It is the policy of the AP not to identify victims of sex crimes in most cases.

The grandmother said the boy is a high school sophomore now. He's embarrassed by the incident and has had little contact with his family since he was moved into foster care, she said.

"He doesn't want to come back here, because he says they'll judge him," she said.

Comer said she expects to be eligible for parole after serving 24 months of the sentence. She said she also will be required to complete a sex offender treatment program that takes from 12 to 18 months. Comer has been in jail for the 16 months since her arrest.

Comer also said since her arrest her ex-husband has not permitted her to see her 5-year-old son, who is autistic.

Prosecutor Jesse Stockton declined to comment, pending Comer's formal sentencing, scheduled for June 20.

A Conroe man who pleaded guilty to shooting a TCU football player to death last year has been sentenced to life in prison. Kasey Davis was a freshman kicker for the Horned Frogs.

Police say he was gunned down in a car by 42-year-old Jeffrey Clay Lasiter in January 2006 while home for Christmas break. The shooting appeared to be random.

The two men did not know each other. Lasiter pleaded guilty Monday before the start of his trial.

His attorneys had argued that the divorced, unemployed father of two suffers from a mental illness.

A man accused of having a sexual affair with an underage student while working as a Sherburne-Earlville High School janitor pleaded guilty in County Court.

Shawn M. Clark, 28, County Rd. 24, Sherburne, pleaded guilty to 3rd degree rape, also known as statutory rape. Originally he was charged with third degree rape, third degree criminal sexual acts and endangering the welfare of a child. Clark never had any prior legal trouble with law enforcement and had maintained a relationship with the 16-year-old, who is now 17.

The couple allegedly had consensual sex and had family approval said Clark’s Public Defender Alan Gordon.

The allegations apparently came to light after the relationship ended on bad terms and the girl came forward said investigators.

Instead, he will remain behind bars at least 12 years and for the rest of his life will be classified -- and must register wherever he lives -- as a sex offender.

Three of the four women De La Fuente Jr. sexually assaulted had admitted they were prostitutes. The fourth, a 15-year-old, denied being a prostitute and said she was kidnapped by De La Fuente Jr.

De La Fuente Jr. wiped tears from his eyes as the judge read each count and asked for his plea.

"Guilty, your honor," De La Fuente Jr. said after each count.

Meanwhile his father, City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, rubbed his eyes and shook his leg as the pleas were entered. At times he stared at his son. Other family members, including De La Fuente Jr.'s mother, cried.

De La Fuente Sr. and the rest of his family left the courtroom without comment.

Deputy District Attorney Brian Owens said the plea was not a surprise given the testimony of three of the women.

"The witnesses were credible and their testimony powerful," Owens said. "I believe that is why he decided to no longer fight and admit his guilt."

Three of the four victims, including the 15-year-old girl, had already testified in the trial.

Each victim described similar events leading up to being raped and sexually assaulted.

They described how De La Fuente Jr. picked them up in the Fruitvale and drove them to secluded areas of the city. Each victim said he parked his car with the passenger side against a building or fence to block her exit. They all said De La Fuente Jr. forced himself upon them without using protection. And when he was finished, the witnesses said, De La Fuente Jr. threw them out of his GMC pickup truck and drove away.

Although De La Fuente Jr.'s defense team attempted to discredit the witnesses, the jury believed the rapes and sexual assaults had occurred, Owens said after he interviewed the jury.

"They felt the women were credible and believable," he said. "They were leaning towards conviction."

But defense attorneys Robert and Anne Beles continued to argue Thursday that those accusing De La Fuente Jr. of rape and sexual assault did not appear credible on the stand.

"I thought the complaining witnesses that testified did very poorly, their credibility was impeached," Robert Beles said.

But, Beles said, the fact that there were four witnesses caused a "cumulative effect" that was overwhelming for De La Fuente Jr.

"It's his decision to take a compromise," Beles said.

De La Fuente Jr. will be sentenced to 14 years behind bars but might be able to be released after 12 years, Owens said.

If the jury had convicted De La Fuente Jr. of all five counts, he would have faced 25 years to life because of enhancements, such as kidnapping, placed on each charge.

Adam Saleh today received the maximum sentence of 38 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of the murder of Reynoldsburg model Julie Popovich.

The judge called Saleh a "shark" who might prey on other women if he is ever released. He also order that Saleh, 20, be labeled a sexual predator.

"Today we received justice for Julie because a very dangerous man is being removed from society," said Popovich's mother, Peggy White. "But I encourage young women to beware of the predators because they are out there waiting."

The jury of six men and six women found Saleh, an auto mechanic, guilty of murder, attempted rape, kidnapping and tampering with evidence for the 2005 slaying of the 20-year-old Popovich.

They acquitted him of aggravated murder charges, sparing him a possible prison sentence of life without parole. Jurors deliberated about seven hours over two days.

The jury told Assistant County Prosecutors James Lowe and Daniel Hawkins afterward that they didn't think Saleh intended to kill Popovich, as one inmate had testified.

"They said they believed that he choked her, but he wasn't trying to kill her," Lowe said. "The testimony was that he tried to make her pass out and then he realized she was dead."

"Only God can judge me," Saleh told Hogan before he was sentenced.

Hogan told Saleh: "I have come to the conclusion that you, sir, are a shark and I hope the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction never lets you out, because I am convinced that once you are out you will find a way to behave the same way again."