Man Sentenced to Five Years for Gross Sexual Imposition, Other Charges

A Glouster man found guilty of one count of gross sexual imposition (GSI) was sentenced to five years in prison last Wednesday. Thomas Shifflet, 76, had his sentencing in the Athens County Common Pleas court. Judge Michael Ward did the sentencing.Judge Ward sentenced Shifflet to five consecutive years in prison. In addition, once released from prison, he will have to go through five years of post-release supervision. Shifflet will also be labeled a “Tier II” sexual predator; he will have to be registered with the Sexual Offender Registry twice a year for 25 years. The label refers to the degree of his crimes and the ages of his victims. In addition to his prison sentence and supervision upon release, Shifflet is tasked to pay the families $6,490.64 on a two-year restitution.The case began in July 2011, when Shifflet was arrested following an investigation into reports of sexual abuse in two separate day care facilities; Shifflet’s daughter ran one of the institutions. Shifflet was then brought to court. The lengthy process lasted until March 19, 2013, when he was finally found guilty on one charge of GSI and acquitted of another. The jury was deadlocked on two other counts of GSI and one charge of rape.The maximum punishment for the guilty charge on the GSI count is five years in prison; Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn says that is the case no matter if the corroboration is ruled on or not: there can be no further sentencing on that count. Lavelle said that any mandatory prison sentence is worse than any “presumptive” rulings, as in any sentencing that could be decided by the judge. Blackburn’s office said he would still be asking for the full prison stay.The sentencing trial was originally supposed to take place March 29, but was delayed because of motions filed on behalf of the defense. Prominent motions call for the judge to vacate the one guilty verdict and dismiss the other counts the jury could not decide. Other motions from defense attorney John Lavelle called for a mistrial and lack of corroboration; without corroboration, there can be no prison sentence based solely on one child’s testimony.At the sentencing trial last Wednesday, the count of rape was changed to one of gross sexual imposition; Shifflet pleaded guilty to the three undecided counts on an “Alford plea.” Essentially, he did not admit he committed the crimes he was accused of, but he did concede the prosecution may be able to prove his guilt, and he made a plea instead.Defense attorney Lavelle does not agree with the restitution penalty. He argues that the expenses the restitution would cover have already been paid for by insurance. Therefore, the money would go to third parties rather than to the families themselves. The state ruled that the restitution be paid, but Lavelle claims $6,300 of it cannot be “legally documented” and should therefore be disallowed.