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LISBON -- A Wellsville man accused of possessing multiple images of children being sexually assaulted received an 18-year prison sentence Monday, which means he won't be eligible for release until he's 95 years old.
James G. Hunter, 77, Commerce Street, appeared in the custody of a deputy sheriff and was accompanied by his defense attorney Zachary Miller. County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone recommended 12 months for each of the 18 charges of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a fourth-degree felony, to be served consecutively, bringing the total to 18 years. Another 32 counts will be dismissed.
He said this sentence is in line with other sentences in similar cases that have occurred in Columbiana County and that consecutive sentences were warranted, pointing to the 1700 images of child sexual abuse found on the defendant's electronic devices. Yacovone said the defendant claimed the original image discovered that led to a search warrant just popped up.
"These weren't the type of images that would just pop up," Yacovone said.
He also talked about how defendants in these types of cases treat these images as a collection.
"This defendant is the exact reason why this horrible industry continues to exist in our country," he said.
Miller asked the judge to consider concurrent terms with full jail credit for the 819 days already served in jail the past two years. He pointed to his age, numerous health issues he's experiencing and the fact that up until this point, he led a law-abiding life. He served in the National Guard and was honorably discharged. He had been a sports official and a volunteer.
He also presented a letter from another inmate who talked about how Hunter had been mistreated by some inmates and had the Columbiana County jail chaplain testify on his behalf about how he's taken part in various religious programming and a discipleship course.
Miller stressed that 18 years would be excessive, noting "it may even be a life sentence."
Hunter said little when given the chance, acknowledging that he entered a guilty plea and respected the court's judgment.
Bickerton held up a stack of letters Hunter had been sending her from jail and told him she read every letter he sent. She also saw what he did, though, too, with all the images, saying sexual abuse is a crime to the victims and robs the innocence of the children depicted in the images.
"You didn't stop doing this because your moral compass corrected itself," Bickerton said.
The job of the court is to protect the public and look at the seriousness of the crime and the serious factor is high, she said. She acknowledged his law-abiding life and said most of these type of defendants don't have a criminal record. But she also said she has no idea how long he had these images.
"You stopped cause you got caught," she said.
Besides the prison sentence, she also designated Hunter as a sex offender required to register when he's released from prison.
The indictment said he possessed the material that had minors as participants on Feb. 21, 2024, which is when a search warrant had been executed on his property.