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LISBON -- An East Liverpool man who sexually assaulted a child beginning when she was 8 years old in 2014 and continuing through 2015 faced his punishment Thursday, receiving 14 years in prison.
Brian David McCune, 42, Dale Street, appeared in the custody of a sheriff's deputy, and was accompanied by his defense attorney Charley Kidder during the sentencing hearing before Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam.
County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone said after the defendant serves those 14 years the victim will still have to deal with the trauma of what happened to her.
"This defendant gave this little girl a life sentence," Yacovone said.
In March, McCune pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony gross sexual imposition as charged and to a lesser first-degree felony rape offense. According to the indictment, the sexual conduct and sexual contact began Oct. 1, 2014 when the child was 8 years old and continued through Dec. 31, 2015.
An affidavit in county Municipal Court, where the charge was first filed by a St. Clair Township police detective, said that McCune came to the station on March 3, 2023 to speak with the detective and admitted to performing the sexual acts on the child victim in the time period 2014 to 2015 in St. Clair Township when the child would have been 8 or 9 years old.
Yacovone asked for a sentence of 10 years for the rape and an additional four years for the gross sexual imposition for the total of 14 years, which is the sentence Washam issued. McCune was also designated a Tier III sex offender which will require him to register his address with the sheriff's office once he's released and will also require community notification.
In talking about the victim, Yacovone said she disclosed what happened when she was 16 years old after years of attempting to deal with the trauma on her own.
When she was interviewed, he said "she was able to provide experiential details," talking about where, what was going on, what happened to her. He said the sexual assaults happened 20 to 50 times.
When the defendant was interviewed by police, he admitted to the sexual assault but said it only happened once.
"I find it hard to believe that the defendant did it once and never did it again," Yacovone said.
Washam noted that once is too much.
The victim's mother wrote a letter to Washam and the victim's grandmother read a statement in court that was written by the victim.
"My childhood was taken away from me," she read.
The victim described how she's now suffering from depression, post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. She also has severe trust issues with men and still has nightmares, but feels better since disclosing what happened.
Kidder said his client took responsibility. McCune spoke briefly and asked for a minimal sentence, talking only about concerns for his family.
mgreier@mojonews.com