Second man sentenced for 2007 sexual assault in Kent. Third man still wanted
A Bedford man indicted with rape at a party in Kent in 2007 has been sentenced to probation after pleading to a reduced charge.
He is the second defendant sentenced in the case while a warrant has been out for the arrest of the third man for more than a year.
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Judge Becky Doherty sentenced Jason M. Horvath, 36, this week to one year probation, according to Portage County Court of Common Pleas records. Horvath pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony aggravated assault in November.
Doherty sentenced another man, Armel M. Hardy, 37, of Kent, in October to 30 days in Portage County Jail and three years probation after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
Both men were originally charged with first-degree felony rape before the charge was reduced as part of a plea deal.
Kent police said a then 20-year-old woman reported in September 2007 that she had been at a party at a Kent apartment and although she did not recall clearly what happened, when she woke up the next morning, she believed she had been sexually assaulted.
She went to a hospital, police said, and evidence was collected during a sexual assault examination, but suspects remained unidentified for years.
Matches to the samples were found in the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national database of DNA, in 2018 and 2020. Additional evidence was still needed and it took time to interview the woman, witnesses and suspects, many of whom were no longer in the area.
A grand jury indicted Horvath, Hardy and a third man, Michael D. Lavender, 39, in January 2022 and warrants were issued for their arrest. Hardy was arrested in May and Horvath in July.
Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said Lavender's whereabouts remain unknown.
Vigluicci said the woman is now living in another state, has "moved on" and wanted to put what happened behind her, so it was decided to end the matter by offering a plea deal. He said the passage of time since the offense was also a factor.
"Of course, she was made a part of all of that and agreed with the resolution," said Vigluicci.
In sentencing memorandums filed in court, attorneys for Horvath and Hardy said that the two men have lived law-abiding lives and are not likely to be repeat offenders.
Both men said they engaged in sexual conduct with the woman but believed at the time that it was consensual, according to the memorandums.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Two men now sentenced for 2007 sexual assault in Kent
