Rootstown man gets 54 months in prison for sexually abusing girl starting when she was 8
A Rootstown man was sentenced this week to more than four years in prison for sexually abusing a young girl for more than two years, when she was between 8 and 10 years old.
"This little girl, unfortunately, is going to be going through so much over the next number of years to try and put the pieces of her life back together," Portage County Common Pleas Judge Becky Doherty told Scott R. Boyd, 34.
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Shortly after that, Doherty sentenced Boyd to 54 months in prison and determined he is a Tier II sex offender. This will require him to register with the sheriff in any county he lives, works or goes to school in every 180 days for 25 years.
"I want you to know, as well as the victim's family and the victim, that I take full responsibility for my mistakes, my actions," Boyd told Doherty prior to being sentenced. "I'm certainly sorry to her, for her."
A grand jury indicted Boyd on charges of first-degree felony rape and three counts of third-degree felony gross sexual imposition. According to the indictment, the crimes took place between August 2018, when the girl was 8, and December 2020, when she was 10.
As part of a plea deal, Boyd pleaded guilty in April to a single county of third-degree felony gross sexual imposition and prosecutors agreed not to prosecute him on the remaining counts. The maximum Boyd could have been sentenced to on this charge was five years, according to court records.
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"One of the things I was concerned about, especially as I read the pre-sentence investigation, was Mr. Boyd's willingness to take responsibility for what took place," Eric Fink, Boyd's attorney, told Doherty before the sentencing. "Certainly, the statement he gives initially, he does not seem to be taking the responsibility for it as much as the court might expect. However, on the last page discussing the matter, he says he feels terrible it happened..."
Fink argued for probation, saying Boyd does not have a prior criminal record.
"He wants everyone to know that he knows he let people down," he said.
Boyd also told Doherty that he hoped she would grant him probation, saying it would cause financial difficulties for family members.
"Again, I'm very sorry for everything I've done. I apologize," he said.
Doherty sighed, however, and indicated that she was unimpressed by Boyd's expressions of remorse. She said that in the pre-sentence investigation report, prepared by the court's adult probation department, Boyd emphasized his own recent living conditions in a camper.
"Mr. Boyd, only one time have you referred to this as anything but a mistake," said Doherty. "You just said you were sorry for your actions. That is as close as you have come to acknowledging what you have done to this child. Your statement that you filled out for probation is appalling to say the least."
Doherty took the girl's mother to task, saying she bore some responsibility for what happened. She also said Boyd claimed that during his encounters with the girl, he somehow believed that he was with an adult female and not the girl.
"That is a pathetic attempt to cover up what you had done to this child numerous times, not just once, not just twice," Doherty said. "By her account, a number of times...I hope everyone involved who is caring for her realizes the amount of love and care it's going to take so that she can put her life back together without excruciating damage."
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Rootstown man gets 54 months for sexual abusing young girl
