MOUNT VERNON — A Mount Vernon man pleaded guilty in Knox County Common Pleas Court Thursday to charges regarding sexual battery against his stepchildren.
Aaron Mitchell, 37, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from conduct dating between Dec. 6, 2017 to Sept. 20, 2019. Mitchell admitted to engaging in sexual acts with his then 16-year-old stepdaughter and attempted to engage in sexual acts with his other stepdaughter, then 18 years old.
The incidents came to light when the older stepdaughter ran away from home and reported to law enforcement Mitchell’s abuse during police interviews after she was found, Prosecuting Attorney Chip McConville previously told the News.
Judge Richard Wetzel accepted Mitchell’s guilty plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
Also pleading guilty to sexually-oriented charges was Randy Sowash, 56, Mansfield. Sowash pleads guilty to attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fifth-degree felony. A fifth-degree felony importuning charge was dismissed.
Sowash arrived in a Mount Vernon park Feb. 5 to meet with someone whom he believed was a 15-year-old minor to have sex with her, according to McConville. The minor was an undercover Knox County Sheriff’s deputy.
Wetzel accepted Sowash’s guilty plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
Meanwhile, J-Ro Sharp, 36, Brinkhaven, was scheduled to be sentenced for failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony, and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a fourth-degree felony. The charges stem from a May 18, 2019 incident in Danville.
However, Sharp made a last-minute request to withdraw his guilty plea and wanted to obtain a different attorney.
Sharp argued that he did not have four prior convictions within the past ten years to justify the fourth-degree DUI felony charge. Wetzel reviewed the documents and informed Sharp that even if only three priors were included, like Sharp argued, it would still make the current offense a fourth-degree felony under the Ohio Revised Code.
According to ORC, an OVI offender who has previously been convicted of three or four equivalent offenses within the past ten years is guilty of a fourth-degree felony, Wetzel noted.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christine Williams expressed her surprise toward Sharp disputing the case at this late stage, as he had already signed the plea deal.
According to the plea agreement, the prosecution recommended 60 days of jail time and a mandatory driver’s license suspension.
Williams noted that the sentencing recommendation is the minimum sentence for the offenses and has been tailored to Sharp. If Sharp backed out of the deal, he could potentially be facing prison time, according to Williams.
Wetzel also explained to Sharp that the sentencing recommendation under the plea agreement was indeed the mandatory minimum. While the court is not bound by the plea agreement, the judge does tend to honor the counsels’ recommendations.
Sharp remained adamant that he wanted to seek advice from another attorney.
Wetzel decided to continue the case for 14 days, to Williams’ objection, for Sharp to seek a second opinion and reconsider.
Sharp is scheduled to return for a sentencing hearing on July 16.
