A Collins teenager was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for molesting her 12-year-old female.
Katie A. Cochran, 18, of 3739 Vine Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual imposition. Immediately after the defendant entered the plea, Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway imposed a two-year prison term on both felonies and ran them consecutively for a total of four years behind bars.
Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler declined to talk about the relationship between Cochran and the victim.
The victim wasn't in court Wednesday, but her parents were.
Leffler said the girl's parents "were accepting" of his plea deal with defense attorney Troy Wisehart.
"They told the judge that," Leffler said, referring to a letter to Conway.
Cochran was arrested Aug. 7 after an interview with Huron County Sheriff's Detective Bill Duncan. The interview followed a 10-day investigation. Duncan, soon after the arrest, said Cochran admitted to having sexual contact with a 12-year-old Collins-area girl.
"(There were) no physical injuries aside from the sexual assault itself," Duncan said.
Huron County Children Services interviewed the victim twice in early August. She was undergoing counseling at the time. Children Services received a referral about the allegations from an area doctor's office and then contacted the sheriff's office.
Cochran pleaded guilty Wednesday to a bill of information, meaning she waived her right to have a grand jury review the case. In mid-August, Norwalk Municipal Court Judge John Ridge transferred one count of gross sexual imposition, which related to a July 19 incident, to common pleas court for a possible grand jury indictment.
Classified as a Tier II sex offender, Cochran will have to register her address at the sheriff's office every 90 days for the next 25 years once she's out of prison.
Comments
with all due respect to the victims family...I do understand why you would be satisfied with the plea deal, you are protecting your child from the further,shame and embarrassment from having to testify, and you just want this terrible incident to go away.. I get that..BUT,this and every act of child molestation is considered to be a crime against society, and, this crime that was done to your child will reappear in different cases and scenarios in your child's lifetime. Meaning that in the future , remnants of this crime will reappear in your childs life, only with other children being exposed to the same sad situation.. It is NOT your child's fault that this will happen... it is "normal" according to statistics .
Just as they say it takes a village to raise a child... all it takes to destroy a village is one "bad apple" The bad apple here is this woman who has robbed your child of her innocence, and literally generation to come will feel the effects of her perverversion.We neeed to only go as far as our own community to see the effects of that.. Anyone who know's , will know.. we had one local businessman who could not keep his hands off of teenage boys... he was barely punished for his crimes, but the next generation, the generation of guys he molested , went on to molest other kids, just as they had been molested , and those people were severely punished....the same can be said for a local coach who did the same thing with young boys... he was hardly punished, yet his victims lives were filled with crime, rape, molestation's and even suicide...the same can be said about the local priests...there is an actual movie made aboutr a Father Denny Grey who was a priest here locally, and the movie talks about the struggle and journey of one of his victims, and the tough choices he had to make... and how now his life is a complete challenge because of the actions of one person... the movie is called "A twist of Faith" and can be seen on your computer..
Truly, my heart bleeds for the victim and her family.. Although I fully understand the reasoning behind their joy over the plea deal reached.. I believe that many, many, many lives will be affected in a bad way because of this, as a trade off of sheltering your child....I do understand, but i am begging anyone who is ever in the same situation to think about it, sometimes the easiest thing, is NOT the best thing.. in my opinion
This is just sad. A girl was molested herself and then molested another girl. Tragic situation for all concerned.
Miss you Katie!
proven fact most that have been molested , molest others.. only the strong are able to break the cycle.. i hope this 12 yr old is that strong one.
problem is 2 years isn't enough time in Ohio's prison system it's not enough time to help a person make change in their life. I know they say people who are abused abuse others. The cycle can stop if the person gets help before they act out..
First - Katie got 4 years not 2. Second - 4 years is the maximum sentence for the 2 offenses Katie was charged with.
I'm sorry for the victim. I'll be praying for her. I hope that the counseling will offer her good help.
Wow 4 years that's the most I've seen this judge give in a longggggggggg time!
This is an interesting outcome, considering there are teachers having relationships with students and getting much less. I'm not saying there should not have been a penalty, but the Courts need to be more consistant. Also it is not true that the majority of people who are molested will also be molesters. However, most people who are sexual offenders have been victims. Its kind of like not all dogs are poodles but all poodles are dogs.