Ravenna woman pleads guilty in sexual abuse of girl over eight-year period

A Ravenna woman has pleaded guilty in the sexual abuse of a now-17-year-old girl over an eight-year period in Kent, starting when the girl was 5.

Heather M. Boone, 37, pleaded guilty in Portage County Court of Common Pleas Tuesday to four second-degree felony counts of endangering children; a count of attempted rape, a second-degree felony; and sexual battery, a third-degree felony, according to court records.

Sentencing is pending completion of a pre-sentencing investigation by the court's adult probation department. Boone faces a maximum of 45 to 65 years in prison, according to court records.

"Obviously, I can't say too much because the cases are ongoing and she hasn't been sentenced yet," Barbara Rogachefsky, Boone's attorney, said Friday. "But she is, at this point, looking forward to having the truth come out and will be doing everything she can to do the right thing."

A case against co-defendant, Steven A. Carswell, 53, of South Euclid, is still pending.

According to a grand jury indictment filed in June, the alleged offenses took place between September 2011, when the girl was 5, and September 2019, when she was 13. Kent police said the charges stemmed from several alleged sexual assaults against the girl, a relative of Boone's, at a Lawrence Court apartment.

Carswell and Boone were both indicted on eight counts each of first-degree felony rape, charges that Carswell still faces. He is currently scheduled for a jury trial to begin March 25, as well as a Feb. 16 status hearing.

In a plea deal, six of the rape counts against Boone were amended down to the charges she pleaded to, and the remaining two were dismissed.

More: Streetsboro man sentenced to 20 years to life for raping a now 9-year-old girl

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna woman pleads guilty in sexual abuse of girl