MOUNT VERNON — Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster sentenced four men to prison on Friday.
Charles R. Hawkins Jr., 42, Danville, was sentenced to 17 months in prison on 10 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, all fourth-degree felonies. According to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher, after Hawkins was evicted from his Wooster Road apartment in April 2007, his former landlord discovered two compact discs containing child pornography. Knox County Sheriff’s detectives and a local pediatrician confirmed the images depicted children ranging in age from 8 to early teens participating in sexual activity. In court, Hawkins said he downloaded the images from the Internet.
Eyster said Hawkins is now classified as a Tier 2 registered sex offender and that upon his release from prison he will be required to report his whereabouts to the local sheriff every 180 days for the next 25 years. Eyster said the court would not be opposed to judicial release at the appropriate time provided Hawkins could secure a bed at the Licking-Muskingum Community Correction Center.
Thomas J. MacLeod, 29, Columbus, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for failing to register a change of address with the Knox County Sheriff, a fourth-degree felony. MacLeod was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Logan County in 1999 and is a Tier 2 sex offender, required to register every six months for 25 years. According to the indictment, MacLeod last registered his address as 123 Quarry St., Mount Vernon, on Aug. 20. KCSO detectives later learned that MacLeod had actually been living in Franklin County. This is MacLeod’s second conviction for failing to register. He was convicted in Knox County in 2002 for the same offense and served 11 months in prison.
Larry J. Butler Jr., 20, was sentenced to 17 months in prison for violating the terms of his community control by breaking his 10 p.m. curfew and testing positive for marijuana. Butler was sentenced in 2006 to three years of community control for multiple counts of burglary and grand theft. According to the original indictment, Butler and at least two accomplices broke into at least two Mount Vernon homes and stole miscellaneous property, including an ATV, musical instruments and tools.
In a separate case, Butler was indicted again in December 2007 for breaking into another Mount Vernon home in June 2007, and stealing a 1995 GMC Jimmy. That same day, Butler and his accomplice broke into two concession stands in Frazeysburg, before wrecking the stolen car and abandoning it in Muskingum County. Butler was sentenced to concurrent jail time for the June break-in.
Donald L. Sapp, 42, Danville, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for domestic violence, a fourth-degree felony. Sapp pleaded guilty on March 14 to assaulting his live-in girlfriend on Aug. 5, 2007. Sapp has a previous domestic violence conviction from 2005.
Robert and Stacie Behrens were each sentenced to three years of control for their roles in selling Oxycontin tablets to Mount Vernon Police confidential informant Mindi A. Myers. Robert, who drove the vehicle used during the deal, was convicted of permitting drug abuse, a fifth-degree felony. Stacie was convicted of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony. Stacie was ordered to pay $300 in restitution to the Mount Vernon Police Department; both will serve a mandatory six month driver’s license suspension.