A Genoa man has been sentenced for felonious assault.
Jared Lachey, 41, appeared Thursday in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.
Kuhlman followed a request by Lachey’s victim and sentenced the defendant to community service.
Defense attorney Peter Rost said there was a significant change in the original charge and at the time of the plea, the background of the two main participants was considered before an agreement was reached.
Lachey was indicted in July 2021 for three counts of rape, all first-degree felonies. Two of the charges were dismissed Thursday and the third was amended to felonious assault, a second-degree felony.
Rost asked for a sentence of community control and counseling.
“I’m looking to follow whatever I need to do to get through this,” Lachey said.
He’ll do whatever is necessary to keep his family together, he said.
“I need to be here for my family,” he said.
The victim, who was 7 years old at the time of the offense in 2012, said she has had PTSD and has gotten counseling because of Lachey’s actions.
“I know he made a detrimental mistake and I want to move past this,” she said.
She said she did not want to see Lachey incarcerated.
Wood County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Gross recommended community control with sex offender counseling.
Kuhlman said the presumption for an F2 charge was prison; however, the state, the victim and the defendant all agreed to a sentence of community control.
He added the probation department also thinks Lachey would be successful on community control.
Kuhlman sentenced Lachey to four years of community control, with terms that included assessment for sex offender treatment.
Supervision may be transferred to Ottawa County.
Kuhlman reserved two-eight years in prison with a maximum of 12 years if Lachey should violate his community control sanctions.
