A judge told Jacobi Anderson that he set himself up for the prison sentence he was about to receive.
Phil Naumoff, Richland County common pleas judge, then proceeded to give Anderson life without the possibility of parole on June 26 for raping a young girl.
Anderson, 22, of Mansfield, was convicted June 18 of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery, three counts of gross sexual imposition and two counts of strangulation.
Because the victim was under age 10, Anderson faced the possibility of life without parole. He frequently babysat the girl.
The offenses happened between April 2022 and August 2024, when the girl was 5-7.
“I don’t know what kinds of things go through someone’s mind when these things happen,” Naumoff said.
The girl’s mother was the first to address the court, reading a lengthy statement.
“I trusted you. I welcomed you into my house. I treated you like family,” the mother said. “You took advantage of the trust that we gave you. Because of your actions, my family will never be the same.”
She said she couldn’t understand how anyone could look at her little girl and want to hurt her.
“Every day, I have to help my daughter heal from what you did,” her mother said. “She should have never had to carry this, and neither should our family.”
The mom praised her daughter’s bravery in testifying on both her behalf and that of other children.
“She showed more courage at 9 years old than most adults would have shown in a lifetime,” she said. “You did not take my daughter’s voice. You did not take her strength.”
The woman closed by asking Naumoff to impose the maximum sentence.
“This isn’t about revenge,” she said. “It’s about protecting innocent children.”
Child victim wrote about how abuse has affected her
While the victim did not attend Friday’s hearing, she did write a victim impact statement that Makalya Cushing, victim advocate for the prosecutor’s office, read to the court.
The girl said that Anderson hurt her.
“Now it’s hard for me to trust people because I’m scared they might hurt me, too,” she wrote.
The 9-year-old wrote that she used to enjoy her toys and coloring, but she doesn’t feel like “the same little girl anymore.”
She said she has nightmares and often wakes up crying. She said she also feels scared when she’s alone and is often sad.
“I wonder why this happened to me even though everyone tells me it wasn’t my fault,” the girl wrote.
Anderson declined to address the court on the advice of Defense Attorney Anthony Koukoutas, who asked Naumoff to appoint an attorney for appeal. Koukoutas also asked the judge to give his client a chance at parole.
Assistant Prosecutor Lauryn Calderhead spoke briefly, urging Naumoff to give Anderson life without parole.
“He has taken absolutely zero accountability for his actions. He has zero remorse in this case,” Calderhead said.
Naumoff backed up the assistant prosecutor’s assertion, referencing a letter that Anderson sent to the court.
“You claim that you were convicted on hearsay,” the judge said. “It’s not hearsay when the victim comes up and testifies and states what happened to her.”
Naumoff said the evidence against Anderson was “overwhelming.” He gave the victim chlamydia.
“How does a young child get an STD?” Naumoff asked.
Like the girl’s mother, the judge praised the victim’s courage.
“This girl got up here in front of a bunch of strangers and bared her soul,” the judge said. “It’s being victimized twice. She had to relive something that no 9-year-old should have to do.”
Naumoff ordered Anderson to pay the sheriff’s office $1,120.59 for extradition costs and $172.95 in restitution to the prosecutor’s office.
He wondered how the victim would fare in life.
“I don’t know how it’s going to affect her in the future,” Naumoff said. “I just know that it’s going to. It always does.”
Mark Caudill can be reached at 419-521-7219 or via X at @MarkCau32059251.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Anderson sentenced to life without possibility of parole
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
