Harris sentencing: More than 5 years in prison in 20-year-old case

A 20-year-old case came to a close Wednesday afternoon when LJ Harris was sentenced to 5½ years in prison.

Harris, 43, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of felonious assault. He had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of felonious assault.

In March, a jury deliberated for seven hours over the course of two days without reaching a verdict, prompting Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson to declare a mistrial.

The incident happened in the early hours of Aug. 29, 2004. Harris picked up a woman, who had left her estranged husband's apartment after a dispute, and drove her to an alley near Sheridan Avenue.

The case had gone cold until spring 2023, when there was a hit on the Combined DNA Index System, a national database that includes DNA profiles of convicted offenders. Semen identified as Harris' had been recovered from the back of the woman's leg.

Now living in South Carolina, the victim did not appear for the sentencing, but she did write a five-page letter that Jamie Akers, victim advocate at the prosecutor's office, read to the court.

"Almost 20 years ago, this man stopped and offered me a ride. He said he would take me to my sister-in-law's house," the woman wrote. "It turned out to be the ride of my life. I thought I was going to die.

"He hit me. He cut me, and he beat and raped me for hours."

Defendant interrupts written statement from victim

From the defense table, Harris interjected, "That didn't happen."

During testimony, Harris and the woman disagreed about the sexual encounter being consensual. The victim said Harris threatened her with a straight razor and cut her thumb. According to a sexual assault examination, the woman also suffered injuries to her genitals.

In her letter, the victim said she tried crack cocaine a few months later for the first time ever. She went to jail some time after that for the first time at the age of 41.

"I became a drug addict," she wrote. "I was devastated. My kids were devastated. They had a drug addict mom. Thank God they were all grown up."

The woman wrote that she used crack cocaine for 9½ years before getting sober.

She said the drug robbed her of her joy, her smile and her family, noting she would not go around her loved ones when she was using.

The woman wrote that she was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"There's so much of my life that goes back to my traumatic incident," she wrote. "He did this to me. He caused my life to change in a way that I can never get back."

When Harris had the chance to address Judge Robinson, he lobbied for a lenient sentence.

"I'm not liable to commit any other crimes. I am not a threat to society," Harris said. "I am pleading guilty only to get this nightmare over with. I will maintain my innocence."

Two of Harris' loved ones vouched for his character, with a cousin suggesting he should go to a treatment facility for alcohol abuse.

Assistant Prosecutor Olivia Boyer pointed out that Harris said he was a nonviolent offender on the witness stand. She said after the trial, she found a Franklin County case that would refute that claim.

According to a report, Boyer said Harris held a knife to a teenage son and threatened to kill him in late 2020.

Assistant prosecutor lobbies for 10-year sentence

"He still refuses to take responsibility," the assistant prosecutor said. "(Victim) has had to deal with trauma for 20 years."

Noting the victim lost 10 years of her life to drugs after the incident, Boyer asked the judge to give Harris a 10-year sentence.

Robinson gave Harris four years concurrent on the two felonious assault counts. In a separate case, Harris previously pleaded guilty to a 2023 felony OVI offense.

He was pulled over in March of last year on Interstate 71, going 94 mph when the speed limit was 70. Harris was found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.262, more than three times the legal driving limit in Ohio.

Robinson gave Harris 18 months for the fourth-degree felony and made it consecutive to the four-year sentence.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Harris gets 5.5 years in prison in 20-year-old cold case