Jose Padilla, III gets four years in prison for attack that blinded victim

NEW PHILADELPHIA — A 38-year-old man from the Strasburg area has been sentenced to four to six years in prison for an attack that left a woman legally blind.

Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Michael Ernest sentenced Jose Padilla, III on Friday on abduction, felonious assault and aggravated menacing charges for seriously injuring his coworker Nov. 13.

More: Strasburg-area man pleads guilty to beating woman in November

More: Strasburg-area man charged in connection with woman's beating in November

Kristin Jones said she suffers from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and ulcerative colitis as the result of the beating. She said damage to her optic nerve is not treatable. She said her vision comes and goes. Much of her hair fell out after the assault, which also caused permanent facial scars.

"Everyone says I survived, but I'm not really living," she said at Padilla's sentencing hearing Friday. "I spent nine months going to specialists due to all of the injuries I have from Jose beating me."

As a result of the assault, she had to leave her job, lost her home and can no longer drive. She had to leave behind belongings that she could not take when she left her home.

She said Padilla already received mercy because he was not charged with attempted murder. She said he told her during the attack that he would kill her.

Jones said she spent more time in Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital in Dover after the assault than Padilla spent in jail. She subsequently stayed in other hospitals.

She said Padilla tortured her as he beat her, forcing her to watch the attack that occurred suddenly, while she was sitting on his couch eating a doughnut. She said he locked both doors so she could not escape. He sat on top of her, choked her and tried to snap her neck, she said.

Jones said she escaped by tricking Padilla. She left his home at 811 Wardell Drive SW, Franklin Township, and ran across the road barefoot to a gas station, where the sheriff's office was called.

Other than the attack, Jones said nothing bad had ever happened with Padilla.

Padilla apologized and said he would take back what he did if he could.

"I'm completely sorry," he said in court. "This is not me. I've never done anything like this before."

Defense attorney Patrick Cusma said the incident happened because Padilla was drunk. He asked Ernest to send his client to treatment for alcoholism.

"Unless we treat that root cause, that bad behavior is going to persist no matter how long you put him in jail," Cusma said.

Ernest said Padilla reported drinking nine to 12 beers daily.

Padilla's mother, aunt and a neighbor spoke on his behalf at his sentencing hearing. His employer and a friend wrote letters about him, which his lawyer gave to the judge.

Carol Padilla said her nephew has had an alcohol problem, but the November attack was his first violent incident. She said he never had professional help for the disease of alcoholism. She said he is a great father who stays in Ohio because that's where his daughter is. She said he is a good person.

His mother agreed.

"All our conversations are, 'You need to quit drinking. Why are you drinking?'" said his mother Ruth Padilla. She said her son is a "great kid" who loves and cares for his autistic daughter.

She turned to Jones and said, "I am really, really sorry for you, that that had to happen. And I'm sorry for him because he did it."

Neighbor Kim Lehman said she and her husband have known Padilla since he moved to Wardell Drive. She said he has always been helpful.

Assistant county prosecutor Scott Deedrick said the attack ruined the victim's life. She is afraid to go out and suffers flashbacks, he said. He said the assault also affected Jones' family.

"At this point, she has a life sentence from what happened," he said.

Deedrick said Padilla claimed he went after the victim because she took his watch and wallet.

Asked in court about the watch by Jones, Padilla said he never found it.

Ernest ordered Padilla to pay $410 in restitution to Jones for medical expenses that were not covered by her insurance.

He ordered the defendant to have no contact with the victim or her children.

Padilla was given credit against his sentence for five days already spent in the county jail. If he serves his entire prison sentence, he would spend 18 months to three years on parole.

Defense attorney Cusma said he will ask the judge to grant Padilla judicial release when he becomes eligible.

Deedrick, the prosecutor, had recommended a sentence of three to four-and-a-half years.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Strasburg-area man, 38, gets 4-6 years in prison for attack on woman