Child rapist sentenced to life without parole plus 14 years

Contributed by the Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office
·3 min read
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ZANESVILLE — A child rapist will serve life in prison without parole, plus 14 years for raping a young girl.

Last month, jurors in Muskingum County convicted Joshua Carbaugh, 31, of West Virginia on charges of rape with a sexually violent predator specification and gross sexual imposition.

On Wednesday, he was sentenced to prison by Judge Mark Fleegle, according to a press release from Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office.

Three-day trial: Joshua Carbaugh convicted on child rape charges

Faces life in prison if convicted: West Virginia man charged with raping child in Muskingum County

“The State is pleased to see the defendant receive the maximum sentence and relieved to know he will never be able to harm another child,” Prosecutor Ron Welch said.

Throughout the three-day trial in Muskingum County, Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Anderson presented evidence to the jury, including testimony from lead detective Randy Wilson, a BCI analyst, a forensic interviewer and the minor victim. The minor victim, now 9 years old, described the defendant raping her and forcing her to touch his genitals when she was only 7 years old.

Muskingum County Sheriff’s Detective Randy Wilson explained that Carbaugh was using a fake name when he was arrested in West Virginia while living with the victim’s mother and when he was introduced to her family.

“The defendant took deliberate acts to prey upon this victim,” Anderson said.

From the beginning of the investigation, the victim’s mother and grandmother refused to believe the victim, and their behavior went beyond just lying to the jury about the little girl, according to the press release.

“Her mother attempted to coerce the child into recanting,” Anderson said.

She and the child’s grandmother made up stories about the victim and even went as far as inventing a sex offender who they claimed had access to the victim in order to create confusion during trial.

After Carbaugh’s conviction, Wilson continued the investigation by tracking down the alleged sex offender the victim’s mother and grandmother had referenced. Not only was that person never around the victim, he had also never been to prison or convicted of any sexual offense, according to the press release.

DNA evidence of Carbaugh’s semen was found exactly where the victim said she was assaulted.

The fact that the mother and grandmother chose to testify for the defendant in an attempt to persuade the jury that the child had made up a story only enhanced the victimization of the young girl, the press release stated.

“I'd like to thank the jurors for hearing the voice of the victim through the noise and lies the defense tried to use to drown that small voice out. I'd like to thank the members of the victim's family that decided to report, support and protect the victim when the sexual abuse was disclosed. Mostly, I would like to thank the victim for having the courage to face Joshua Carbaugh and allow the jurors to hear the terrible things he did, even when her family members chose to protect a sex offender over their innocent child,” Anderson said.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: West Virginia man sentenced to life without parole for child rape