Stetson Yost, 34, of Chester, W.Va., is placed in handcuffs by Columbiana County Common Pleas Court security bailiff Steve Boyd late Tuesday afternoon after a jury found him guilty of rape and gross sexual imposition against a child in Wellsville. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — A jury of seven women and five men needed just 45 minutes Tuesday to find Stetson Yost guilty of rape and gross sexual imposition involving a child victim under 13 years old.

“In my own weakness and twisted ways, I took advantage of you,” Yost wrote in a letter to the victim.

Those words were displayed on a screen for the jury when county Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone delivered the second half of his closing argument.

Parts of that letter were also read aloud by Yost, 34, Chester, W.Va., at the direction of his defense attorney Paul Conn during his testimony in which he denied sexually assaulting the victim.

She was 10 years old when the inappropriate touching began and the game that led to the rape charge occurred, according to Yacovone.

“I know now that I was nothing but a monster to you and I ruined everything,” Yacovone read from the letter, pointing out that Conn didn’t have the defendant read that part.

After two days of testimony in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, including by the victim and the defendant, the jury received the case at 3:25 p.m. to begin deliberations. By 4:10 p.m., the verdict was read and then the jurors were polled at Conn’s request, with all 12 jurors saying their verdict was guilty.

Judge Scott Washam set sentencing for 1 p.m. April 11. Yacovone confirmed that the possible punishment is life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 10 years, for the first-degree felony rape charge, with the victim under the age of 13, plus five years for the third-degree felony gross sexual imposition charge.

Yost, who had been out of jail on bond, was taken into custody immediately to await sentencing. A family member could be heard crying as he was led away.

Jurors began hearing evidence in the case Monday. Yost was indicted in January 2023 for the charges that alleged he had sexual conduct and contact with the child, which occurred from April 3, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2019 beginning when the child was 10 years old.

The state rested its case Tuesday after an official with the Child Advocacy Center through Akron Children’s Hospital testified about an interview done with the victim. Jurors also viewed the taped interview. The defense put Yost on the stand after his cousin spoke on his behalf.

During his testimony under questioning by Conn, he admitted to smacking the victim at least three times during arguments when he said she was mouthing off and wouldn’t listen. He also admitted to calling her names and said he told her “if you want to be a whore, then go be one” and regretted it.

He talked about a game with a lollipop and he denied the allegation that he did anything to her during that game. He also denied touching her except to say that he would “arrange” her while she was sleeping to keep her from falling out of her bed.

As for the letters, he never denied writing them, but said he was trying to apologize for the name calling and punishment when he smacked her.

“So this isn’t a confession?” Conn asked regarding the letter written to the victim. The defendant said no. Multiple times during his testimony he said he didn’t do what he was being accused of doing. He claimed he didn’t know what the allegations of wrongdoing were until he was indicted, only that he was told by the victim’s relative that he had done something wrong.

“You want us to believe you penned these letters with no idea what they were talking about?” county Assistant Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones asked during cross-examination.

During closing arguments, Conn said “this is a difficult case for all of us.”

He said his client denied the claims not just today, but at arraignment and when he was first told there was a problem. He admitted to saying some cruel things, some things that he regrets. Conn said the letter sounds bad, but the only person who knows what was meant was the defendant. Everything else is speculation.

Conn said “I feel bad that this tale got out of control,” saying the victim was going through some changes, his client was having medical issues and “she wanted him out of that house.” That’s why she kept arguing with him.

Conn referred to the state talking about consistency and said if it’s consistency they want, then they should listen to his client, who testified “I didn’t do it and I’m not guilty.”

Yacovone said the victim’s testimony to the jury was consistent with what she said during the interview with the Child Advocacy Center, which jurors viewed, it was consistent with what she said when she disclosed to a relative what happened and it was consistent with what she told a friend.

“It’s consistent because it’s the truth,” Yacovone said, prompting an objection from Conn.

During the first part of his closing statement, Yacovone reviewed the elements of both charges and said all the elements were proven. He talked about the victim’s experiential detail and said that’s something she didn’t just make up. The letter the defendant wrote to her corroborated what she said. Yacovone described the letter as an apology “for the disgusting things he did to her,” written two weeks after he found out that she had disclosed what happened.

He also pointed out that it’s been four years since she had seen the defendant. Why would she put herself through this if not to get justice? He said “she had no motivation to make this up.”

“He’s the one that has the motivation to not tell you the truth,” Yacovone said.