Marion man sentenced to life in prison for raping a 7-year-old child
A Marion County man will spend the rest of his life in a state prison after being found guilty of raping a child.
Judge Matthew P. Frericks sentenced Thomas Chafin, age 61, Marion, to life in prison without the possibility of parole during a hearing held Jan. 13 in the Marion County Common Pleas Court. The judge gave Chafin 357 days credit for time already served at the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion during the course of the trial. All fees and court costs were waived.
The jury in the case delivered guilty verdicts for Chafin on one count of rape, a first-degree felony, and one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, following deliberations on Nov. 8, 2022. The jury took less than an hour to return the verdicts after receiving instructions from the judge.
“Quite frankly, life in prison is too good for Chafin, but at least we know he will not be able to hurt any more children,” Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan said. “He is a monster who will now have to sit in a cell for the rest of his life and think about what he has done.”
After his sentencing hearing, Chafin was returned to the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion to await transport to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Correctional Reception Center at Orient in Pickaway County. The warrant to convey Chafin to the reception center was filed with the Marion County Clerk of Courts on Tuesday.
Chafin was indicted by the Marion County grand jury was indicted on one count of rape, a first-degree felony, and one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, on Jan. 19, 2022, related to an incident that allegedly occurred on Aug. 27, 2021, at his home in Marion. A 7-year-old girl alleged that Chafin raped her during a visit to his residence.
According to a press release issued by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, the victim informed her mother and a social worker at the Child Advocacy Center of Nationwide Children’s Hospital about the incident. Grogan said the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) completed a report which was presented to the jury showing abrasions along the child’s thigh, corroborating the child’s statement that Chafin scratched her during the incident.
Grogan said a Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) forensic scientist testified during the trial last fall that there was evidence that a male touched the child's genital area. The jury was also shown a video of the child during an interview with the forensic examiner in which she also disclosed information about the rape.
Furthermore, Grogan said, the jury heard the testimony of BCI Polygraphist Steven Stechschulte who testified that Chafin lied when he denied the rape and touching the child inappropriately during a polygraph examination.
“I want to thank Bill Owen and John Scott for their incredible work trying this case to the jury," Grogan said. "I also want to thank the Marion Police Department, the Hardin Memorial Hospital, the Children’s Advocacy Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Attorney General Dave Yost’s Office and BCI for their incredible work on this case."
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion man sentenced to life in prison for raping a 7-year-old child
