Decker receives 25-year term for 11 counts of rape
63-year-old pleaded guilty to bill of information in June
Richard Decker Jr. was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday afternoon, in a courtroom where he was heavily guarded.
Decker, 63, last known address of 708 Front St. Apt. 14, pleaded guilty to a bill of information in June of 11 counts of the first-degree rape of nine young girls.
Victims and their friends and family filled the courtroom as they were able to face their abuser. The assaults date from 1991 through 2012.
Before the victims spoke, Washington County Prosecutor Nicole Coil said a few words.
"The state is largely going to defer to the victim statements because I don't believe I can accurately articulate or do justice to their thoughts and feelings in this case," she said. "Nothing about this journey was easy for these ladies."
As each woman read her emotional statement, Decker sat facing Washington County Common Pleas Judge Mark Kerenyi with his head down.
"You manipulated me at every level of my life and at every stage," Victim 1 said. "You broke me."
She described how his actions affected her life. She said her main goal is to raise children who don't have to recover from their childhood.
"I learned that true monsters of the world come in human form," she said. "You are a danger to society. You are a serial rapist and an extremely manipulative man."
The second victim said she was 5 years old when Decker started abusing her, and the abuse lasted five years. She told the court Decker threatened to kill her family if she revealed the abuse.
"Today is the day I've been dreaming of for almost 20 years," Victim 3 said.
She said in one action of a "soulless monster," he took away years of her life.
"I'm taking that power away from you like you took our innocence," she said. "You'll be caged up like the beast you are."
This was not the first time Victim 4 had faced Decker in court. More than 30 years ago, she testified about his abuse, but he received 30 days in jail for gross sexual imposition.
"You didn't commit murder, but you killed our innocence," she said.
Victim 5 wasn't one of the nine included in the 11 indictments Decker was being charged with, but she wanted to face him in court.
"Today is the day I don't have to look back," she said. "One day you will have to face my God."
When the women were finished, Decker gave no statement on his own behalf.
Kerenyi noted Decker received credit for more than 580 days in jail. He will be listed as a Tier III sex offender.