Dad pleads no contest to sexual assault on daughters (Columbus, Ohio)

UNNAMED DAD has pleaded no contest to the sexual assault of his two daughters. The girls were between the ages of 10 and 12 when the abuse began.

http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/article_999f6e5c-6803-11df-9a42-001cc4c03286.html

Man pleads no contest to sexual assault on daughters
By Jim Osborn josborn@columbustelegram.com Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 8:42 am

COLUMBUS — A 45-year-old Columbus man accused of sexually assaulting his two daughters in the family home over about seven years hesitated for several minutes Monday before pleading no contest to the assaults.

The defendant, who is not being identified to protect the identity of the victims, wavered when Platte County District Court Judge Robert Steinke asked him if he was ready to enter a plea to a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a child as a result of an agreement with the prosecution.

“You said you didn’t understand the terms of the plea agreement,’’ Steinke said through an interpreter while awaiting the defendant’s plea.

“Maybe you just don’t want to enter a plea today, which is fine because we’re set for trial, and we can proceed to trial,” the judge said. “The issue now is, do you wish to plead?”

After his 11th-hour indecision, the defendant haltingly entered his no contest plea while standing before the judge in his orange jail jumpsuit.

Steinke then set sentencing for 4 p.m. July 12 in district court.

The terms of the plea agreement with Special Prosecutor Sandra Allen was that the defendant plead to the sexual assault charge in exchange for another first-degree sexual assault and two incest charges dismissed.

First-degree sexual assault of a child is a Class II felony, punishable by a maximum of 50 years imprisonment and a minimum of one year imprisonment.

Incest is a Class III felony, punishable by a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, $25,000 fine or both and a minimum of one year imprisonment.

The defendant could have been sentenced to up to 140 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He has been in custody at the Platte County Detention Facility since his December arrest.

The defendant, who is the biological father of both girls, were between the ages of 10 and 12 when the sexual assaults began, according to an affidavit filed in the case by Columbus Police Investigator Gregory Sealock.

The police investigation of the case got under way in mid-December when the mother of the victims found her husband alone with their younger daughter in the girl’s bedroom late Tuesday night, Sealock said in his statement.

Sealock said both victims reported their father would come into their bedrooms after their mother had gone to sleep and sexually assault them.

Both sisters said they were unaware of the other being assaulted by their father, the investigator said.

The mother of girls also reported she was unaware of any sexual activity between her husband and the couple’s daughters until last week, Sealock said.