A Delaware man convicted of rape last week was sentenced to serve two consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison by Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David Gormley Wednesday morning.
Patrick Martin Howell, 46, of 22 Vernon Ave., was convicted of five counts of rape, which are first-degree felonies.
Gormley sentenced Howell to serve 25 years to life in prison on the first two counts of rape and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively.
He also sentenced Howell to 25 years to life in prison on the remaining three charges of rape but said they will be served concurrent to the other sentences.
Prosecutors said that because the victim was less than 13 years old at the time of the rapes, the charges carry more severe sentences.
Gormley told Howell he will be registered a Tier-III sex offender and will have to register with the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office if he is ever released.
Howell told Gormley he was not guilty at Wednesday morning’s hearing and refused to sign the sex offender paperwork at the hearing.
Howell was found guilty on all charges after a three-day jury trial last week. The jury was comprised of six men and six women.
Howell was being held in the Delaware County Jail Wednesday, awaiting transport to prison.
Howell was credited for the 188 days he has spent in the county jail since his arrest in May.
Assistant county prosecuting attorney Doug Dumolt told Gormley at Howell’s arraignment in May that Howell had engaged in various forms of sex with a girl under the age of 13 between April 2013 and October 2014. Dumolt added that Howell also used sex toys with the victim and showed her pornography.
Court documents say the rapes occurred between April 12, 2013, and Oct. 31, 2014, while the victim was younger than 13. She is now 13.
Dumolt said Howell was arrested after the victim told a friend about what had occurred and the friend subsequently told an adult. Howell was arrested by Delaware police May 15 after the crime was reported to Delaware County Job and Family Services.
