One of the three co-defendants in a downtown Canton rape and assault case pleaded guilty Monday. Curtis E. Bailey was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

CANTON One of three co-defendants in a downtown Canton assault and rape case pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Curtis E. Bailey, 19, of Canton, admitted to his role during a court hearing before Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn Heath.

Heath said she was accepting the plea agreement only because it prevented the victim from undergoing the trauma of testifying in court and reliving the horrific events of last summer.

Bailey pleaded guilty to rape and kidnapping, both first-degree felonies, as well as to aggravated robbery and robbery. The rape and kidnapping charges and aggravated robbery and robbery charges both were merged for sentencing purposes.

Bailey was sentenced to consecutive terms of 11 years for rape and 4 years for aggravated robbery for a total of 15. Following release from prison, he also must register his address every 90 days with authorities as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

What began as a robbery progressed to rape, Heath said. The judge told Bailey that he had "raped a woman of her dignity for no reason (which is) beyond the court's comprehension."

Two others charged are Charles L. Fortson, of Canton, and Johnylee W. Johnson, 20, no permanent address. Forston was 17 at the time of his arrest, and his case is being handled in juvenile court.

Fortson has asked for a second psychological evaluation before a Stark County Family Court judge determines if his case should remain in juvenile court or be transferred to adult court. Fortson's next juvenile court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26.

Fortson is also charged in adult court with felonious assault, stemming from allegations he assaulted a Multi-County Juvenile Attention System youth leader by punching the person in the chest twice while in juvenile custody. A final pretrial is scheduled for Jan. 31 on the charge.

In the rape case, a woman told police three men with a gun approached her around 12:40 a.m. Sept. 17 in the 1300 block of Cleveland Avenue NW. She said they made her withdraw money from an ATM and then sexually assaulted her in an area behind Timken Early College High School near McKinley Avenue NW, according to investigators. Police later determined the group had a "BB/airsoft gun," according to court records filed in the case by the prosecutor's office.

The assailants stole money from the victim's purse before forcing her to go to an ATM, court records said.

Heath ripped into Bailey in the midst of reading sentencing instructions.

"You're rolling your eyes at me," she said, her voice escalating. "You find this to be painful? Are you serious? I'm sorry we're inconveniencing you." Pausing briefly, she added, "And that was obviously facetious."

The victim did not appear in court. However, Toni Schnellinger, an assistant Stark County prosecutor, said that while the woman supported the plea agreement, the victim had told her there are "not enough years to adequately punish" the perpetrators.

Following the court hearing, Bailey's attorney, Bernard Hunt, said that his client meant no disrespect to the court. "I think just the weight of 15 years hit him," the defense attorney said.

"He's had a troubled childhood," Hunt said. "He's been in foster homes most of his life... He understands the grave nature (of the offenses).

"He is a young man, he is a follower and sometimes he doesn't make the best (choices of) friends," the attorney said.

Schnellinger declined to comment because of the other pending cases.

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and ed.balint@cantonrep.com

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