Staff report

WARREN — Danny McFadden, 76, of Niles, was sentenced Tuesday to 11.5 years in prison with consecutive terms after a jury convicted him last month on 11 counts of gross sexual imposition in a case involving a young female relative.

He also was declared a Tier 2 sexual offender, meaning he must register with the sheriff’s office where he resides twice per year for 25 years once he is released from prison.

McFadden was found guilty Nov. 7 after nearly a week-long trial before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Rice. He also was tried on 17 counts of rape involving the same victim, but the jury could not render a verdict on those charges.

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman told the judge he will decide by the end of the year if McFadden will be retried on those rape counts. If he had been convicted on all the charges, McFadden faced about 45 years in prison.

McFadden’s crimes date back to 2017 when a female victim related to him was age 5. She is now 12. Two other victims had testified at trial — a neighbor of McFadden’s who also was a juvenile at the time of the sex crime against her and the nanny of the primary victim who testified the defendant had grabbed her private parts.

During the sentencing hearing, the judge heard written statements from the parents of the primary victim, the victim herself and the nanny. The defendant told the judge he was not guilty of the crimes and has maintained his innocence since his arrest last year.

He did not testify at the trial.

During the trial, the victim described the abuse escalating over seven years, with McFadden threatening to displace her and her siblings if she disclosed it.

The incidents occurred two to three times weekly in homes and vehicles during babysitting or transport to activities, according to her testimony.

The girl’s parents testified to their shock upon learning of the allegations in May, with the mother recalling feeling “sick” and the father briefly passing out. A former nanny described observing “inappropriate” hugs and touches by McFadden.