RAVENNA − A Streetsboro man and his wife will spend years in prison for their part in the sexual abuse of a young girl over about eight years.
A third defendant in the case is awaiting trial.
Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Laurie J. Pittman sentenced Dustin W. Shawley, 37, to 15 years to life in prison.
“I hope you rot in hell for what you did,” Pittman told Shawley after sentencing him.
Later, she sentenced Janice M. Shawley, also 37, to 5 to 7.5 years in prison after Shawley waived a pre-sentencing investigation by the court’s adult probation department.
“I hope you sit in prison and understand what you allowed that little girl to go through,” Pittman told her.
Pittman also determined both Shawleys are Tier III sex offenders, which will require them to register with the sheriff of any county where they live or work every 90 days for life.
Dustin Shawley pleaded guilty in July to five counts of first-degree felony rape and a single count of second-degree felony endangering children.
In a plea deal, a sixth rape count was amended down to the endangering children count, and six counts of third-degree felony gross sexual imposition and a single count of third-degree felony endangering children were dismissed.
Shawley’s attorney, Errol Can, said his client agreed to the deal because he does not want to put the girl through a trial.
Portage County Prosecutor Connie Lewandowski said the abuse took place from the time the girl was 4 until she was 12, and that the trauma has resulted in her being “in and out of mental health facilities.”
“No sentence can provide reparations for the ordeal [the girl] has endured,” said Lewandowski.
In a letter to Shawley that was read in court, the girl said she hates him and wants him to go to prison.
“You took my childhood away from me,” she wrote, adding “I’m in a better school and I’m in a better life.”
A letter written by the girl’s grandmother also was read.
“I believe Dustin Shawley should be punished for his actions against [her granddaughter], psychologically, physically, emotionally,” she wrote.
Pittman told Shawley that his actions are “sickening.”
“Sir, I don’t think there is any length of time I could give you that would be enough,” she said. “I just don’t understand people like you.”
Janice Shawley, 37, who said little, pleaded gulilty to first-degree felony complicity to rape and second-degree felony endangering children.
She also accepted a deal, and a complicity charge was amended from first-degree felony rape and other charges.
James Foltz, her attorney, requested that Pittman sentence her to the 5 to 7.5 years the parties agreed to in plea negotiations.
“I think where we landed is appropriate for everything that has happened,” he said.
Prosecutor Madison Knapp said that while Janice Shawley might claim that she did not really know what was going on, “evidence shows she knew exactly what she let [the girl] go through.”
The third defendant, Franklin E. Janszo, 63, of Wellington, in Lorain County, is charged with four counts each of first-degree felony rape and third-degree felony gross sexual imposition. The alleged offenses took place over about six months when the girl was 10, according to an indictment.
A jury trial for Janszo is currently scheduled to begin Oct. 27.
Pittman also fined each of the Shawleys $300 and ordered them to pay $344 and $342 in court costs, respectively.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: ‘I hope you rot in hell’: Judge gives Streetsboro couple years in prison after girl’s rape
Reporting by Jeff Saunders, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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