WARREN — A 32-year-old transgender woman said she plans to appeal a 25-year-to-life sentence for the rape of a 9-year-old girl.

Shae Newton, formerly known as Shane Newton, of Girard, was found guilty in June in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court after eight hours of jury deliberation on two counts of gross sexual imposition and a single count of rape. Newton was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Andrew Logan for the crimes that occurred between March and June 2021.

Logan told Newton after sentencing that she will have a “long time to think about what you’ve done and the damage you brought on.”

The girl’s mother was present in the courtroom, but chose not to make statements.

Newton, if released, would be labeled a Tier 3 sex offender, which requires her reporting four times per year to the sheriff’s office for the rest of her life.

WROTE IT DOWN

According to a Warren police report, in February 2022, authorities became involved after the child, who Newton had been babysitting, became upset when her mother told her Newton would be coming to watch her. The child told her mother she did not want Newton coming to the residence.

The report states that the mother asked the girl to write down what Newton did. The child wrote four pages detailing the abuse between March and June of 2021. The mother brought the document to the police station. Newton was picked up on a warrant in August of last year.

A plea agreement was offered at an earlier hearing that would have had Newton plead guilty to rape, which would have carried a 10-years-to-life sentence. But Newton denied all charges and sought to go to trial.

WITNESSES

Assistant Prosecutor Diane Barber called five witnesses throughout the trial, which included the victim herself, who is now 11 and residing in Texas. The victim spoke calmly to the court for about an hour about the sexual abuse.

Testimony also was heard by representatives of Trumbull County Children Services and the Akron Children’s Hospital Children Advocacy Center in Boardman, who told jurors about their interviews and examinations of the girl.

Monique Malmer, nurse practitioner with the CAC, testified that a physical exam showed positive evidence of abuse.

Newton also testified, denying the accusations. Newton said she was about a year into the process of transitioning at the time the abuse occurred.