WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) - A Champion man convicted of raping a child was sentenced Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
David Varner Jr., 46, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition in the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl, according to the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.
He was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday with no chance of parole for 20 years.
The crime happened on Christmas Eve 2023. Varner was indicted in January.
Varner is also determined to be a Tier III sex offender and will have to register with the local sheriff's office for the rest of his life, should he ever get out of prison, according to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office.
Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman said the state agreed to a 15-year to life sentence, but Judge Sean O'Brien said he was appalled by the facts of the case and seeing the background information.
"I can't think of a worse crime that has been committed while I have been on this bench," O'Brien said, adding that the seriousness of the offense and Varner's conduct warranted the consecutive sentences.