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Sugarcreek man guilty of sex crimes

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XENIA — A Sugarcreek Township man will spend at least eight years in prison after committing sex crimes against a juvenile.

Harold L. Stookey, 67, pleaded guilty to sexual battery and gross sexual imposition in Greene County Common Pleas Court Monday, Jan. 23, and was sentenced to 10 years in jail — eight mandatory — by Judge Steven Wolaver as part of a plea/sentencing agreement.

Stookey had been indicted in April 2016 of four counts of rape — a first-degree felony — and two counts of gross sexual imposition, but those charges were dropped as Stookey pleaded guilty to the second and third-degree felonies Jan. 23. Stookey will also be required to register as a sex offender every 90 days for life on the sexual battery charge and every six months for 25 years on the gross sexual imposition.

Prosecutors agreed to the deal because they felt that 10 years in prison was the equivalent of a life sentence, which was the maximum for the rape charge, and it spared the victim from having to testify

“Our goal is always to achieve the ends of justice,” assistant prosecutor Cheri Stout said. “(But the victim) testifying is not always the answer.”

The crimes took place between Nov. 1, 2014 and Jan. 22, 2016 according to the bill of information and the victim — who was around 7-years-old at the time — was someone Stookey knew, Stout said.

Stookey’s attorney, Antony Abboud, had no comment after court adjourned.

Stookey — who was remanded to Greene County Jail and led away in handcuffs — was sentenced to two years in prison for a gross sexual imposition charge and a contributing to unruliness charge in Warren County in 2001, according to online records.

Scott Halasz | Xenia Daily Gazette Harold Stookey (right) will spend at least eight years in jail after pleading guilty to sex crimes Monday. He is pictured with his attorney, Antony Abboud (left)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/web1_Stookey.jpgScott Halasz | Xenia Daily Gazette Harold Stookey (right) will spend at least eight years in jail after pleading guilty to sex crimes Monday. He is pictured with his attorney, Antony Abboud (left)

By Scott Halasz

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Contact Scott Halasz at 937-502-4507.