Rapist gets more than a decade

SANDUSKY — A convicted rapist recently learned that he will spend at least the next decade in prison. David Valentine, 28, of Norwalk, was sentenced to 11 to 16 and a half years in prison in Judge Beverly McGookey's Erie County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. Valentine pleaded guilty to rape and an amended charge of attempted rape in September. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop two counts of rape, three counts of use of an impaired person in nudity-oriented material and one count of tampering with evidence. The original indictment listed illegal sexual conduct Valentine was alleged to have engaged in with a man in his 70s during November and December 2021. The victim was a resident of the Ohio Veterans Home, where Valentine was employed. Valentine agreed that he would not be a candidate for judicial release, according to the guilty plea form. He is classified as a Tier III sex offender. Upon release, he will be required to register his home and work addresses with the local sheriff every 90 days for life. "As I discussed with the family of the victim, although there is no appropriate sentence that can relieve the pain they suffered, knowing that their loved one was sexually abused, I believe (the) sentence appropriately took into consideration the factors that a court has to consider when imposing a sentence," said Paulette Lilly, who prosecuted the case.