Man gets three years for molesting boy
Family concerned local court too lenient

advertisements

A family’s plea that a man who molested a young boy be punished harshly didn’t go unheeded after they criticized Logan County’s criminal justice system.

“It was better than I thought it was going to be,” said Susan Haggard of Lima after learning Monday that 44-year-old Barry Emberling of Lakeview will spend three years in prison. “I do believe he should have received the maximum.”

Mr. Emberling originally was charged with rape and gross sexual imposition for molesting a boy under age 10. The rape charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement that the boy’s mother signed off on, and the victim’s aunt Mrs. Haggard and her husband William have been crusading to get a harsh prison sentence for Mr. Emberling since.

Mrs. Haggard researched recent sex cases in Logan County Common Pleas Court and said she believes prosecutors and judges need to be more strict in cutting deals and handing down punishment.

“My concern with lenient sentencing is it opens the door for these people to want to move to the county,” Mrs. Haggard said. “If they ever get in trouble they know they will be sentenced leniently.”

Judge Mark S. O’Connor, who read the family’s statement before allowing Mr. Haggard to read from it, said he did not believe the prosecutor’s office was taking enough responsibility for cutting deals on the front end.

“Victim coordinators don’t explain the plea process adequately,” he said. “Prosecutors make a deal and then they want to make the court look like the heavy.”

Ohio judges are limited in prison terms they can impose by the degree of the felony. A first-degree felony such as rape can be sentenced with 10 years and occasionally more, while third-degree felony charges such as gross sexual imposition can be sentenced with a maximum of five years in prison.

In handing down a maximum sentence, however, judges must make certain findings to demonstrate that the offender is at the highest risk of committing further crimes. A common factor is whether the offender has a prior felony record, which was not the case with Mr. Emberling.

Mr. Emberling also was declared a Tier II sex offender, a process that is now determined solely based on the section of Ohio law the defendant is convicted of violating.

Home invasion participant pleads

Matthew S. Haley Jr., 23, of Bellefontaine, entered guilty pleas to having a weapon after committing a felony and tampering with evidence for helping dispose of a gun used in a Jan. 10 home invasion.

Mr. Haley went with three codefendants to a 313 S. Park St. home to rob Keith Brown. When Mr. Brown fled, Devonne Petaway, 33, the only one of the three not yet to plead guilty in the case, allegedly fired shots at him.

Other sentences

Steven Briley, 43, of Huntsville, was sentenced to three years in prison for violating a civil protection order. Judge O’Connor said he could be eligible for judicial release in six months.

• John Stevens, 42, of Bellefontaine, was ordered to serve five years’ probation, pay a $1,000 fine and court costs, complete 100 hours of community service and attend drug counseling for a trafficking in drugs charge.

• Kendra Henry, 30, of Bellefontaine, was placed on probation with drug counseling and was ordered to pay a $250 fine and court costs for a drug possession charge.

• Douglas Boggs, 26, of Bellefontaine, was placed on probation for nonsupport of dependents.

Diversion granted

John Belton, 39, of Mercer, pleaded guilty to theft and was placed on diversion for stealing more then $2,000 in diesel fuel by using an account of his employers at R.D. Holder Oil Co.

Contact | Paper Locations
Copyright © 2008 The Bellefontaine Examiner, Hubbard Publishing