LIMA – A Lima man described by an Allen County prosecutor as a “very dangerous individual” was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison on a single count of rape, a first-degree felony.
Jazz Howell, 21, was indicted in March of 2019 for an incident two months earlier in which a woman with whom Howell was in a relationship told police she was raped at a home in the 500 block of North Woodlawn Avenue.
A grand jury indicted the Lima man on two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping. Howell accepted a deal from prosecutors in August and pleaded guilty to the single rape count.
Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Sturgill said Howell has a criminal history of sexual assaults as a juvenile and as an adult was previously charged with menacing by stalking a female victim.
Sturgill told the court that Howell admitted to investigators he knew he had induced fear in his victim during the assault and further admitted that he “fed off that fear.”
Howell’s attorney, Kenneth Rexford, said his client is “troubled” and has “serious problems” due in part to previous events that involved family members.
Howell’s mother said her son, who has been in jail for 600 days since his arrest, has been “trying to grow up throughout this” and asked the court for leniency. “He needs to get some type of help,” the woman said.
Howell spoke only briefly, apologizing to the victim, who was not in the courtroom, and taking “full responsibility” for his actions.
Judge Jeffrey Reed imposed the 10-year prison sentence that included the designation of Howell as a Tier 3 sex offender who as such will be required to register with local authorities every 90 days for life.
According to court documents, on Jan. 31 police responded to a fight in progress at the North Woodlawn Avenue location and were advised a woman was being assaulted by Howell inside the residence.
The woman told police she had been physically and sexually assaulted by Howell. She said she went to the Woodlawn Avenue home to visit Howell, but the pair got into an argument. She said Howell slapped her in the face, removed her pants and forced her to have oral sex and sexual intercourse with him.
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