Staff photo / Ed Runyan Justin Mayfield, left, listens, along with his attorney, Brendan Keating, as Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman, on Monday discusses the crimes Mayfield and his wife committed against two children over multiple years.

WARREN — It was hard to tell what was on the mind of Justin Mayfield, 37, of Warren, as he stood before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Rice Monday and pleaded guilty to seven counts of child rape and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles because he did not offer any remarks when it was his turn to speak.

What he did do was repeatedly shake his head “no” as Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman read a summary of the eight offenses Mayfield pleaded guilty to before receiving the agreed-upon sentence of 40-years-to-life in prison.

“Specifically this defendant engaged in sex acts with children,” Wildman said. Mayfield “specifically in count 7 and 8, he engaged in, along with his co-defendant, Shawna Mayfield, his wife, sex acts with a minor male victim,” Wildman said.

“Likewise, along with his co-defendant, Shawna Mayfield, in counts 11 and 12, he engaged in various sex acts with a minor female victim,” Wildman said. “In counts 26, 27 and 28, the defendant continued to engage in such behaviors … with (a) minor female victim,” Wildman said.

“He also showed pornographic material to that same child. The State would have offered the testimony of the children of the now-cooperating co-defendant, Ms. Mayfield, individuals with Trumbull County Children Services and law enforcement officers in this case.”

The offenses occurred over multiple years in the recent past.

When Rice asked Justin Mayfield’s attorney, Brendan Keating, whether Wildman’s summary of the offenses his client pleaded guilty to was accurate, Keating said it was.

When Keating was asked if he had anything to say on Justin Mayfield’s behalf, he said he believes “a big impetus of his plea would be not having to put these children through any more psychological harm. My client indicated that to me.”

Wildman said he has spoken to the victims and the other people in their life. “This is fully in line with their wishes,” Wildman said. As Rice pronounced the sentence, she said she found it “fair and reasonable.” She gave Mayfield 10 years to life in prison on each rape count for a total of 40 years to life.

If Mayfield ever gets out of prison, he will have to register with the sheriff’s office where he lives every 90 days for the rest of his life.

Throughout the hearing, Mayfield answered a quiet “Yes Ma’am.” He gets credit for 126 days of jail credit because of him being in the Trumbull County jail since Sept. 6.

Shawna Mayfield pleaded guilty Wednesday to eight counts of rape, five counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, one count of child endangering and one count of sexual conduct with an animal and agreed to testify against her husband. She got a sentencing recommendation of 30-years-to-life in prison and will be sentenced Jan. 21. Part of her plea agreement was that she testified against her husband.

Wildman said after the hearing that a top priority was satisfied in this case in that none of the victims had to testify at trial since Justin and Shawna Mayfield pleaded guilty.

Though Shawna Mayfield pleaded guilty to more rape counts than her husband, she got a recommendation for less prison time because of the evidence in the case, Wildman said.

“Based on the evidence, it was very clear. We had cellphone data. We had her cellphone, which included text messages between the two,” he said. “He was clearly the primary driver of this. He was clearly the one the ideas originated with.”

Wildman said Shawna Mayfield “at some point tried to stop it. She has obviously taken accountability for her role in this. She did have more charges. But I think the criminal intent, all of these ideas originated with him.”

He said this case is worse than many in that the couple was abusing children together. “There’s animals involved. When you put that all together, it’s pretty horrific. I hope the sentence reflects that, that they are both going to serve a life sentence.”

When asked about the role of pornography in the case, Wildman said both were “pretty active in online child pornography groups and chat rooms. There was evidence that Shawna was trying to obtain” child pornography.

He said the unsung heroes of this case are the Warren Police Department, who investigated the crimes, and the work of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Cuyahoga County that “got us the information. We proceeded. Warren police were all over it. We had a search warrant within days or hours.”

Wiseman noted that Justin Mayfield has a previous criminal record, including a crime that involved minors.

“The important thing to remember in this case is they are both serving a life sentence. That is sort of the headline in my opinion – that neither one of them hopefully can ever get out and hurt a child again.”