LISBON — A young man who admitted he doesn’t usually have much to say said plenty Thursday, delivering a strong message of survival while facing the man who sexually assaulted him over and over again.

“I’m not a victim, I’m a warrior,” he said defiantly.

Known simply as child victim #1, he spoke on behalf of himself and the three other young sexual assault victims during the sentencing of Timothy Coles, the 36-year-old Wellsville man sent to prison for 23 years for eight separate counts, including rape and attempted rape. Coles knew all four of the children.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam followed the recommendation of county Assistant Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones for sentencing, ensuring the terms for the crimes against each victim ran consecutive to each other.

He found the consecutive sentences necessary to punish the defendant and said he considered the information in the sentencing memorandum written by Jones and the statements made by the victims and their family members.

“They will all continue to suffer after today,” he said, recognizing the lasting effect of the assaults.

Washam ordered a 10-year mandatory term for count one, attempted rape, a first-degree felony; 11-year mandatory terms each for counts two and three, rape, a first-degree felony lesser offense, and 12 months each on count four, attempted sexual battery, and counts five, six, seven and eight, gross sexual imposition. Counts one, four and five (child victim 1, age 10-12 years old) were to run concurrent to each other, but consecutive to the rest; counts two, three and six (child victim 2, age 6-12) concurrent to each other, but consecutive to the rest; and counts seven (child victim 3, age 6-9) and eight (child victim 4, age 9-10) consecutive to all for a total of 23 years.

“I think it was important for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct toward each individual victim,” Jones said.

The assaults stretched over a seven-year period from November 2012 through December 2019. Two of the victims were just 6 years old when the abuse started and two were just 9 and 10 years old.

The two rape counts were amended to take away the age element which would have been punishable by life in prison, according to Jones, who said the families were kept informed and were in agreement with the resolution of the case, noting the plea agreement eliminated the children having to testify about what happened to them.

Washam also designated Coles as a Tier III sexual offender, meaning he won’t be allowed to reside within 1,000 feet of any school, preschool or daycare premises and he’ll be required to register his address with the sheriff’s office of the county where he resides every 90 days for the rest of his life. The designation also requires community notification.

In the sentencing memorandum, Jones noted the serious nature of the crimes, the chance for recidivism since Coles assaulted one victim at a time on separate occasions, moving on to another victim and another and another, his grooming behavior by buying the children gifts and the fact that his relationship with the minors facilitated the assaults.

“The defendant not only violated the trust of these minor victims who looked up to him as a care-giving adult, he robbed them of their innocence. For that, there is no adequate remedy,” she wrote.

She also wrote that any sentence imposed would be “shorter than the lifelong impact that the defendant’s heinous crimes will have upon each of the children he victimized. And, while no sentence can return the innocence of the victims, a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offenses and punishes this defendant will help these victims by bringing closure to this traumatic chapter of their young lives, by assuring them that their voices were heard and that their offender was held accountable, and by comforting them in knowing that the community is safer, and no other children will fall victim to this defendant.”

The mother of one of the child victims also spoke, along with a community member. He and his wife have custody of one of the children at this time. Both spoke about the trauma endured by the children, the robbing of their innocence and the fact that they’ll never be the same. The man thanked Wellsville Police Lt. Marsha Eisenhart, who sat with the families in the courtroom, the county prosecutor’s office, including Jones and county Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone, and the investigative team.

During the proceedings, Coles showed no emotion and made no statement. His defense attorney, Charley Kidder, asked the court to consider the plea agreement, but asked that the terms be served concurrently. He noted his client had no priors and said the plea agreement does serve justice.

After the hearing, he commented “we’re glad the judge went along with the recommendation. We hope everybody can heal from this.”

Jones thanked the Wellsville Police Department, Eisenhart, the Children’s Advocacy Center through Akron Children’s Hospital, county Children Services, Yacovone, prosecutor’s investigator Jen Tedrow and victim’s advocate Kayla Garber for all their help with the case.

She said she was proud of the young man who spoke on behalf of himself and the other victims for being able to stand up and let the court hear how they were impacted.

mgreier@mojonews.com