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78-Year-Old Man Sentenced For Raping Woman After She Shared Video Of Assault On Snapchat
He was sentenced to five years in prison.
A 78-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to raping a 20-year-old victim. As USA Today reported, James D. Allen of Marblehead, Ohio, was sentenced for the August incident this past Thursday. Although he initially said that he didn't remember the crime occurred, the victim shared it on Snapchat.
Allen claimed that he didn't remember the incident until he saw the video footage.
“I did not know anything had happened until the police came at 6 AM the next morning,” Allen said, according to The Toldeo Blade. “The police informed me there'd been a video and they also informed me as to what it showed. I did not argue or dispute them because I didn't know for sure.”
Once he saw the video, he was convinced he did indeed assault the young woman.
“Once I was shown the video by my attorney, I realized that it was completely true,” he said. “At that point, I took full responsibility for my actions and I still do. There’s no doubt in my mind that I committed a crime against her [the victim], and there’s no justification for it.”
Allen claimed that he consumed a lot of alcohol and also provided the victim with alcohol. The prosecutor explained that the victim's ability to consent was impaired. He said that it's unclear why the victim chose to share the encounter on Snapchat.
“It's still kind of a mystery as to why she was [videotaping]. Perhaps it was her only method of communication at the time,” Ottowa County Prosecutor James Van Eerten said. “Again it appears as though she was severely intoxicated at the time and under the influence. He clearly admitted to providing her with a substantial amount of alcohol that night.”
Allen pleaded guilty to felony rape. As part of this plea, he is also required to register as a sex offender. Allen has no previous criminal history, which the judge pointed out as unusual.
“I have no similar offenders,” the judge said. “A 78-year-old male convicted of rape — I don't have many of those. So this is a bit of an unusual situation.”
The crime comes with a mandatory minimum of three to 11 years.
Defense attorney James Popi said Allen intends to appeal the sentence.
[Photo: Ottowa County Sheriff's Office]
