Streetsboro man admits guilt in rape cases involving juveniles
A Streetsboro man could spend the rest of his life in prison after his guilty plea on charges of rape and other counts involving numerous juveniles over 20 years.
David Lloyd James III, 57, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Portage County Court of Common Pleas to 38 felony charges, including 13 first-degree felony rape counts involving eight victims known to authorities.
Sentencing is pending completion of a presentencing investigation, including victim impact statements. Prosecutor Stephen Michniak told Judge Becky Doherty that he believes victims plan to attend the sentencing and some might make statements in court.
"They are thankful that this matter is being resolved and they do not have to go forward with a trial," said Michniak.
Victims included four males and four females. All but one, a male who is now 16 years old, are now adults in their 20s, according to court records. In at least some cases, offenses took place over a period of several years.
Victims ranged in age between 7 and 17 at the time of the offenses, between July 2004 to March 2023, according to court records.
Officials have not identified how James knew the victims.
The rape charges all come with violent sexual predator specifications. Prosecutor Stephen Michniak said each of those charges comes with a maximum possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
James Eskridge, James' attorney, said he thoroughly explained the ramifications of the plea to James. Neither he nor James made any comments about the case.
James also pleaded guilty to 23 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor − 13 of them second-degree felonies and 10 of them fourth-degree felonies − and single counts of gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, both third-degree felonies.
Michniak said the second-degree felony pandering charges involve images found in James' possession of six victims known to authorities, while the 10 lesser pandering charges involve numerous images of unidentified juvenile victims. James is not accused of creating those images.
Second-degree felony charges come with sentences of up to eight years in prison apiece, with three of those charges coming with the possibility of up to four additional years. The third-degree felonies carry sentences of up to five years each, and the fourth-degree felonies 18 months each.
Doherty said sentences can be consecutive or run at the same time as one another.
Doherty also said that James will be designated a Tier III sex offender, which will require that he register with the sheriff of any county he lives, works or goes to school in every 90 days for life, if he's ever released from prison.
As part of a plea deal, the gross sexual imposition charge was amended down from a rape charge, and 72 additional felony charges leveled in a grand jury indictment − nine of them for rape − were dismissed.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Streetsboro man admits guilt in rape cases involving juveniles
