“I can’t think of a worse crime:’ Warren man gets 20 years to life sentence for child rape
A Warren man on Wednesday was given a life prison sentence with his first chance at parole coming after serving 20 years in a child rape case.
David Varner, 46, had pleaded guilty last month to two counts rape and one count of gross sexual imposition in the Christmas Eve 2023 sexual attack of an 8-year-old female relative.
Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean J. O’Brien also declared Varner a Tier 3 sexual offender meaning if he ever gets out of prison, the defendant will have to register with the local sheriff’s office four times per year for the rest of his life.
Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman said the state had agreed to a 15-year to life sentence in a plea deal arrangement, but O’Brien said he was appalled by the facts of the case after seeing the background investigation.
“I can’t think of a worse crime that has been committed while I have been on this bench,” said the judge who was elected in November 2022.
Judge O’Brien added that the offenses’ seriousness and the defendant’s conduct called for consecutive sentences.
Family members of the victim were in the courtroom but did not choose to speak.
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