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Pocono News Section
Scranton Man Going to Prison for Sexual Assault
Scranton Man Going to Prison for Sexual Assault - Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 04:20AM EST
Reported by: Eric Deabill
Thursday May 13 2010
0/ 5 rating
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - A Scranton man is going to prison for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl.
Craig Rodney learned he'll spend between two and a-half and five years in prison Thursday morning.
The family of the victim says the young girl has been changed forever. They say she now lives a life of fear, not freedom. The judge listened to their story and punished Rodney to the maximum allowed by law.
"It was something we've waited for for almost nine months and it's a small victory but my daughter can now live in peace a little. She feels a little safer now in her own house," the victim's mother said.
Eyewitness News is not identifying the victim's mother to protect the young girl's identity.
Rodney pleaded no contest to indecent assault charges earlier this year.
"He violated her in ways she can never get back," the victim's mother said.
Police say Rodney abused the young girl last August inside a home in the 300-block of Green Street in Scranton. It happened on two occassions.
Prosecutor Gene Talerico asked the judge for the maximum penalty for indecent assault charges. The judge agreed. The judge also said if he could impose a stiffer sentence, he would have.
"It's important to understand that there's a little person that was impacted, a four-year-old, who's life has been forever changed," Talerico said.
"I wish it could have been more. If it could be life, I would love life," the victim's mother said.
Rodney was supposed to be sentenced last week, but he never showed up for court. He was caught hours later by police.
The victim's mother says with Rodney now behind bars, her daughter no longer has to live in fear.
"She's afraid to even leave her own house. She's afraid to play in her own yard. She's afraid to walk the neighborhood and she shouldn't have to feel that," the victim's mother said.
Rodney did not apologize for his actions inside the courthouse. His attorney declined to answer questions after Thursday's sentencing.
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