Two area men were sentenced Wednesday in Summit County Common Pleas court to life in prison for sexually assaulting two 12-year-old girls in separate incidents.
In the first case, James E. Lane, 19, of Akron, will be eligible for parole after 10 years. In addition, Summit County Judge Paul Gallagher labeled Lane a Tier III sex offender, meaning he’ll have to register with his local sheriff’s office every three months for the rest of his life if he’s ever released from prison.
Lane was already a Tier III sex offender, but his registration was not publicly viewable because he was 15, a minor, when he was last convicted.
In the more recent case, Lane was accused of assaulting a girl last November who at first did not tell anyone what happened. Two months after the incident, the girl’s mother found letters Lane had written to the girl. The girl told police what happened and Lane was arrested. Police said Lane had tried to pursue a relationship with the girl before the incident.
According to Ohio law, sex with a child under age 13 is defined as rape and is punishable by life in prison.
In the previous case, Lane was charged with forcing another 11-year-old girl into a tent in her backyard where he allegedly raped her in June 2013.
In second sentencing, a Summit County jury found James Renaud, 49, of Tallmadge, guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of sexual battery and five counts of gross sexual imposition for molesting a 12-year-old girl whom he knew.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Christine Croce sentenced Renaud to two life sentences, plus another 25 years in prison.
Renaud will be eligible for parole in 45 years.
Police say Renaud molested the girl from March 2013 to early December 2013. Twinsburg police opened an investigation when the victim’s mother came forward after receiving allegations via text message from her daughter.