By Kathy Laird
Robert Cooley, 34, of Galion was sentenced to eight years in prison on an amended charge of felonious assault. Cooley was originally charged with rape in June and bond was set at $1 million by Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leauthold.
Bucyrus attorney Adam Stone represented Cooley and helped coordinate the plea. In an effort to spare the victim the trauma of testifying, prosecutors agreed to amend the rape charge to felonious assault.
Before Leuthold handed down the maximum sentence of eight years, he had some words for Cooley.
“I’m not going to yell at you or lecture you, but here we are again. You can’t seem to control yourself. You’ve done time for an attempted rape and this case has a sexual component to it,” Leuthold said. “Your behavior is out of control. I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re doing eight years in prison. In this county, we protect the victims of crime.”
He warned Cooley to stay away from vulnerable women.
“You keep doing this, and I’ll keep sending you to prison” Leuthold concluded.
Cooley will receive credit for time served in jail.