Man who raped girls between ages 4-8 gets 30 years

3/1/2014

A Lucas County judge had little mercy for a Toledo man convicted of raping three young girls, who told the court he’d found God during his seven months in jail.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Dean Mandros sentenced Timothy Bragg, 25, of 729 Walnut St. to 30 years in prison. Bragg pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to three counts of rape for what was described in court Friday as repeated sexual assaults on the girls, who were between the ages of 4 and 8 when the offenses were committed from December, 2010, to April, 2013.

“I thought I was well past the point where I would be exposed to events that would shock my conscience,” the judge said. “This case proves otherwise.”

Bragg had faced seven counts of rape, but entered a plea agreement with prosecutors that called for maximum sentences of 10 years in prison for each of three counts in order to avoid forcing the young victims to testify in court.

Bragg told the court he’d gotten involved with Bible studies in jail and said if that had happened sooner in his life, “I would’ve never done this.”

Defense attorney John Thebes pointed out that Bragg did not have a serious criminal record and said his client had been abused as a child and was now taking psychotropic medication. Still, Mr. Thebes said, there was nothing he could say to explain or excuse Bragg’s conduct.

Judge Mandros called Bragg’s offenses “deviant, perverted, and depraved,” and said he was imposing maximum consecutive sentences to punish Bragg and to protect the public from an individual who a clinical psychologist concluded “does what he wants with no concern for the consequences to himself or others” and would be “unlikely to show any significant change in his behavior.”

Judge Mandros also classified Bragg as a sex offender who — once he has been released from prison — must register every 90 days for the rest of his life with the sheriff in the county where he is living, attending school, or working.

“You reference that you engage in these Bible studies,” the judge said to Bragg. “I would say you should hope there is no heaven because if there is a heaven, then there’s a hell, and I could not think you would ever be spending eternity in heaven — but I could be wrong.”

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.