CADIZ A former police chief will spend the next 18 months behind bars for breaking the laws he once enforced.

Ron Bone, who was the top cop in his hometown of Hopedale, had entered a guilty plea in a sexually-based case involving a 17-year-old male during his last court appearance in mid-April. On Friday, Harrison County Common Pleas Judge Michael K. Nunner sentenced the 51-year-old to 18 months in prison and six months in the Eastern Ohio Correctional Center. In addition, he will be on community control sanctions for a period of three years and will also be required to register as a sexual offender for the remainder of his live.

Bone was indicted on 10 separate sexually-based counts after an investigation led to his arrest in September of last year. Eight of the counts were dismissed as part of the agreed plea agreement. He entered a guilty plea to two charges of sexually battery. Had the case gone to trial the defendant was subject to 53 years in prison if convicted on 10 counts.

“A case like this is very sad,” said Prosecutor T. Shawn Hervey. “It’s tough on the victim and his family. If we had gone to trial this teenage victim would be forced to tell of his first sexual relationship in front of the media and those in the courtroom. The plea agreement saved him from doing that.”

“This was not a case of rape,” said defense counsel Francesca Carinci. “This boy, who was approaching manhood, was engaged in a consensual relationship with my client for over a period of a year. It is sad this boy’s sexuality had to be made public. This is a tough thing for any young man to go through. By entering a plea Mr. Bone did what was best for this young man.”

Court papers indicate the two had sexual contact at both the Bone’s home and the Hopedale Municipal Building. The case was investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification.

Because of health matters, Bone was ordered to report to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office within 7-10 days for transport to begin his prison term.

“My client has health issues and he has an appointment with his doctor on Monday,” Carinci said. “He is not a flight risk. He will serve his sentence.”

Although the victim was not present during the sentencing phase of the case, Hervey read portions of a victim impact statement prepared by the teen.

In it, he indicated that he had become depressed and angry. He also said he no longer enjoyed going to school. “I try to get my mom to call me off at school because of the teasing by classmates,” Hervey read. “I don’t think this sentence will be enough.

The teen also requested that the court enforce a no contact order.

Also submitting a victim’s impact statement was the teen’s mother.

Reading from that document, Hervey noted the matter had harmed the teen’s entire family.

“I have just one question to ask,” the mother wrote. “How could you do this to a family that looked at you as a brother? You are just plain sick.

“You have put him through a living hell,” she said of her son. “[The boy] is a better person that you can ever be.”

She also indicated that Bone had threatened her son telling him he would make his life “a living hell” if he told about their sexual relationship.

At the request of the defendant’s attorney, Judge Nunner is reviewing the possibility of giving Bone credit for time served while under house arrest prior to the sentencing hearing.

It is anticipated the victim’s family will most likely be filing a suit against the Village of Hopedale related to the matter.

Sedgmer may be reached at ksedgmer@timesleaderonline.com