A Toledo man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the abduction of a woman who was then held against her will and sexually assaulted.
Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Stacy Cook also sentenced Caleb Curtis, 26, to five years of community control for a kidnapping charge. With that, he will serve 180 days at the Correctional Treatment Facility, followed by 90 days at work release, and 90 days on electronic monitoring.
Prosecutors said Curtis contacted a woman on Aug. 12, 2018, and asked her if she wanted to make $100. The woman, who knew and trusted Curtis, agreed to go along. She was then taken to a Fairfax Avenue residence, where she was sexually assaulted for hours before she was let go.
The Blade does not identify victims of sexual assault.
Curtis claimed it was not his idea to kidnap and sexually assault the victim. Rather he was dragged into the crime by co-defendants Allen Oliver and Donnie VanCleve, who threatened him and members of his family. He said he thought both his own life and the victim’s life were in danger, but Judge Cook said he still could have found a way to summon help.
“Your thinking was far clearer than you want to give yourself credit for because the one thing we all have is self preservation. The one thing that greater people have is the preservation of others and you worked on your base instincts of self preservation,” Judge Cook told Curtis.
Curtis had faced a 30-year possible sentence if his case had gone to trial, but he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that included reduced prison time.
The judge said she was reluctantly abiding by the plea agreement and not sentencing the defendant to additional time.
“The accepting of the plea agreement is an unpalatable part of this job and this process,” she said. “It makes me sick. These facts are truly as egregious or more than any case that I’ve heard with regard for such offenses.”
Curtis must complete a sex offender program, undergo a mental health evaluation, register as a Tier III sex offender, and appear before Judge Cook 30 days prior to being released from the treatment facility.
The victim in a prepared letter read by a court victim’s advocate said Curtis deserved a tougher sentence. She outlined the conduct of the defendants in the case, and said she was told at the time of the crime that she was being given to Oliver to “satisfy a debt” owed by Curtis.
Sniffles from crying family members, the victim, and Curtis echoed in the otherwise silent courtroom while the letter was read.
“You talked about me like I was just a piece of property, as if selling another human being was OK,” she said.
Curtis, an honorably discharged veteran with no record, struggled with a turbulent childhood which made him an individual who didn’t speak up for himself, defense attorney Ronnie Wingate said.
The defense attorney added it’s easy to look back on the incident and say Curtis should have called 911, but he was gripped by fear, in part because of his own past.
“His past had silenced him and he didn’t have the courage to do that,” Mr. Wingate said.
Curtis struggled through tears to read his prepared statement in court and Mr. Wingate took over reading for his client
“I want her to know that I am sorry and if I could undo the hurt that I caused, I would,” Curtis wrote.
Prosecutors said there were many conflicts between the story told by Curtis, the stories of his co-defendants and the victim, and the case’s evidence. They contended Curtis was trying to make himself look like a victim, and he had never previously shown any remorse about his actions.
Oliver was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison, and VanCleve’s case is pending.
First Published January 3, 2020, 12:09 a.m.
