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WARREN -- A Leavittsburg man faces a maximum prison term of 22 to 27 years after pleading guilty Thursday to the rape of a department of developmental disabilities caretaker at his Kayser Road home.
Hunter Hauck, 20, appearing before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Ronald J. Rice, accepted a deal that had him plead guilty to first-degree rape and kidnapping charges. Hauck also will have to register as a Tier 3 sex offender and a violent offender.
He was indicted in August 2022 on two counts of first-degree kidnapping and three counts of rape.
Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman said the terms of the deal, which included a background investigation of Hauck prior to sentencing, were agreed upon by the 51-year-old victim.
Hauck's plea comes after several months of dispute over whether he was competent to stand trial.
Since first appearing in court in 2022, Hauck underwent two separate psychological evaluations that found him to be competent to stand trial.
Wildman said the charges stem from a July 16, 2022, incident at a group home where Hauck was staying.
Wildman said a caregiver who routinely assisted at the group home was held at knifepoint then forced into a bedroom where Hauck made her perform a sexual act.
Afterward, the victim was able to call her boyfriend who then alerted the police.
Hauck was arrested and, according to the report, consented to a DNA swab while the knife was taken as evidence.