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Assault charge nets city man prison term

WARREN — A 65-year-old Warren man will spend 19 to 24.5 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of kidnapping and attacking a 70-year-old woman in her home.

John Baker was sentenced Monday by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Sarah Thomas Kovoor. The same jury convicted him on Sept. 4 after a three-day trial. Jurors cleared him of one count of first-degree rape after deliberating for almost two hours.

The attack happened Feb. 20, inside a house on Summerdale Avenue in Champion. The victim told the court Baker threw her onto a bed and hurt her with something sharp.

She locked herself in the bathroom and called 911. She said Baker stabbed the door about 11 times with a knife while threatening to kill her.

Prosecutors showed body-camera videos, played 911 recordings, showed photos of the knife and damaged door, plus 28 other pieces of evidence. A scientist from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said DNA on the victim’s underwear matched Baker.

Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker told jurors a police video showed Baker drunk. Becker said Baker gave officers different stories — first claiming a “sex-a-thon,” then saying he was impotent.

Before announcing the sentence, Kovoor told Baker, “You terrorized this poor woman.” She said the back-to-back prison terms fit the serious crimes and Baker’s lack of remorse.

Starting at $3.23/week.

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