Walser enters Alford Plea in sex case involving a minor, sentenced to 30 months in prison
COSHOCTON − A Warsaw woman was sentenced by Judge Robert Batchelor after being convicted of sex crimes Wednesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court.
Elizabeth R. Walser, 42, was indicted in August 2022 on three counts of rape, first-degree felonies, from incidents ranging from July 15, 2015, to July 15, 2018. The victim was between 8 and 11 years old at the time.
The Coshocton County Sheriff's Office reported its special victims unit began looking into the case on Oct. 6, 2021. Walser was taken into custody by authorities on June 27, 2022, and officially charged with rape two days later.
On July 7, Walser entered an Alford Plea to three amended counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies, as part of a plea deal. An Alford Plea means one pleads guilty while maintaining her innocence, but admits the prosecution's evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial. As part of the deal, the state agreed to not oppose a pre-sentence investigation and to a joint sentencing recommendation of 30 months in prison.
Batchelor adhered to the sentencing recommendation. Walser will also serve mandatory 5 years of post release control and have to register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years. She was granted 323 days of credit for local incarceration.
Walser did not speak on her own behalf in court. Attorney Matthew Mollica of Cambridge said he's only had two previous clients who did an Alford Plea who he believed were truly innocent, Walser was the third.
"Looking at the possibility of a life sentence is why we decided to go this route with the state," Mollica said.
The victim's mother spoke in court about how she and her son felt betrayed by Walser and how her son is not the same carefree boy he was before. The Tribune does not identify victims.
"He will never be the happy-go-lucky boy with an easy going personality he once was. He struggles to be the teenage boy he was meant to be. You stole his childhood. You stole his innocence," the mother said to Walser. "What you did to (my son) makes him feel unsafe and different, that he doesn't belong like he once did. He was once confident. He no longer trusts people, he's difficult to show affection or even know what appropriate affection is because of you. You are the cause of many ruined relationships for him."
"We have the two parties coming to a resolution and while it might not be what each side wants, it is the reality of this situation," Batchelor told Walser. "Even though the prison term might not be what the victim would hope for, you will see the inside of a state penal institution. You will enter that women's reformatory as a child sex offender."
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Rape charges: Warsaw woman pleads guilty to gross sexual imposition
