Darke County Common Pleas Court hears sex offense cases

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GREENVILLE — Perpetrators of two alleged sex offenses were sentenced in Darke County Common Pleas Court Monday. Judge Jonathan P. Hein presided.

Rachael Guillerman, 25, of Arcanum, was sentenced on charges of obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony. The charge was reduced from one of pandering obscenity involving a minor, a second-degree felony, in accordance with a plea agreement between Guillerman and the Darke County Prosecutor’s Office.

Guillerman allegedly found a photograph of two naked children, a boy and a girl, on her boyfriend’s cellphone and sent a copy of the photo to her sister, asking for advice on how to deal with the matter. She then confronted her boyfriend, who was able to get rid of the phone before being approached by police. Guillerman’s sister later reported the incident to authorities.

“This was a serious offense,” assistant prosecutor Deborah Quigley told the court. “When the offense involves child pornography, the state would argue that there are victims, even though in this case the children weren’t able to be identified.”

Quigley argued the defendant should have immediately shown the photograph to law enforcement. Defense attorney David Rohrer had a different view, however.

“I find this to be an abhorrent prosecution,” Rohrer said. “I did view the photograph in question and did not find it to be pornographic. It simply showed a boy and a girl playing naked on a beach. There was no sexual implication at all.”

Rohrer also indicated he thought the state chose to charge Guillerman as a tactic to try and ultimately pursue charges against her boyfriend but proceeded with the prosecution once that tactic failed.

“I also don’t believe people have a duty to inform the police, especially where a family member or loved one is concerned,” Rohrer said. “I find that to be a ridiculous statement.”

Judge Hein sentenced Guillerman to 60 months probation.

“There’ll be no jail time,” Hein told the defendant. “I don’t think you need that to learn your lesson. It’s like parenting: sometime you teach, and sometimes you spank. We’re going to try teaching for now.”

Jacob Motley, 18, of Greenville, was sentenced on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony. Motley pled guilty to having sex with one 15-year-old and one 13-year-old girl in 2017. No allegations of force or coercion were involved, and Motley has no prior criminal history.

“Mr. Motley claims he was unaware the girls were underage,” Darke County Prosecutor R. Kelly Ormsby said. “But one of the girls was a friend of his sister, who’s also 13. So if he knows how old his sister is, I don’t know how he couldn’t have known the approximate age of this other girl.”

Ormsby recommended at least 90 days in Darke County Jail, as well as Tier II sex offender registration, which would require Motley to register with local authorities in his county of residence once every six months for the next 25 years.

“There’s no doubt that Jacob has mental issues that need to be addressed,” defense attorney David Rohrer told the court.

When asked for a “layman’s diagnosis” of what he felt those issues might be, Rohrer said he felt Motley had difficulty comprehending what his attorney was telling him at times.

“There are sometimes problems communicating with Jacob, and sometimes there aren’t,” Rohrer said.

“What you did is both illegal and immoral,” Hein told the defendant. “But that doesn’t mean you recognize it as either. Even though the law says you’re an adult at 18, science says the part of the brain where people make good decisions isn’t developed fully until at least age 25. And for some people it can be even later.”

Judge Hein ultimately sentenced Motley to 15 days in Darke County Jail and 60 months probation, as well as Tier II sex offender registry.

Rachael Guillerman, of Arcanum, was sentenced on charges of obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony. The charge was reduced from one of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_IMG_0003-11.jpgRachael Guillerman, of Arcanum, was sentenced on charges of obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony. The charge was reduced from one of pandering obscenity involving a minor. Tony Baker | The Daily Advocate

Jacob Motley, of Greenville, was sentenced to 15 days in Darke County Jail on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_IMG_0004-9.jpgJacob Motley, of Greenville, was sentenced to 15 days in Darke County Jail on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony. Tony Baker | The Daily Advocate

By Tony Baker

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