National Roundup

Massachusetts
Mom gets 2 years in prison for ­forcing daughter to have sex
SALEM, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts mother who forced her intellectually disabled adult daughter to have sex with her mother’s boyfriend in exchange for money and bill payments has pleaded guilty.

The Eagle-Tribune reports that 58-year-old Nancy Barr was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to rape, indecent assault and other charges.

Barr, formerly of Haverhill and now of Salisbury, was also sentenced to three years’ probation and banned from having contact with her daughter by a judge who called her actions “reprehensible.”

The victim, now in her late 20s, functions at the level of an 8- or 9-year-old child.

Prosecutors say Barr encouraged her daughter to have sex with the now 69-year-old boyfriend, who was paying for Barr’s cable and internet service.

He pleaded guilty to rape in May.

Ohio
Woman sent to prison for ­college loan scheme
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman has been sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison for her role in a $1.8 million college financial aid scheme that involved enrolling inmates and people whose identities had been stolen at an Arizona community college.

Fifty-four-year-old Janice Shufford, of Akron, was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution during sentencing Tuesday. A jury convicted her earlier this year of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. Two other women, 48-year-old Bridgid Sommerville and 39-year-old Christine Robinson, previously pleaded guilty to related charges.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland says the three women enrolled people without high school degrees or GEDs at Maricopa Community College between 2011 and 2015.

Shufford’s attorney declined to comment Tuesday.

Virginia
Mom gave 3 kids marijuana, gets 10 days in jail
STAUNTON, Va. (AP) — A Virginia woman who pleaded guilty to giving her three children marijuana has been sentenced to 10 days in jail.

The News Leader reports 28-year-old Stephanie N. Hamrick pleaded guilty to child neglect and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, as well as a misdemeanor. She was sentenced to jail time and four years’ probation Tuesday, in a plea deal that prevented her children from having to testify against her.

She was arrested in June and accused of dealing marijuana and providing it to her three kids, ages 7, 11 and 14. Prosecutors said one of her children provided visual evidence of the marijuana use.

Her lawyer, Eric Swortzel, says Hamrick doesn’t have custody of her children. He says she didn’t provide a reason for giving her children marijuana.

North Carolina
Man pleads guilty to taking ­pictures of boy in restroom
STANLEY, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man who acknowledged taking photos of a boy in a park restroom will serve at least two years in state prison.

The Gaston Gazette reports 35-year-old Christopher David Hayes pleaded guilty to felony secret peeping, indecent liberties, assault with a deadly weapon and hit-and-run Tuesday.

Prosecutors say the 10-year-old was using the bathroom May 12 when he heard a camera in the stall next to him and ran out screaming. While trying to leave the park, Hayes ran over someone’s foot and backed into a car.

He was arrested later at a rehabilitation center.

His lawyer says alcohol impaired his judgment. The boy’s stepmother said in court that he’s scared of adult men.

Hayes is required to register as a sex offender for 30 years.

Virginia
Man gets plea deal in marcher assault at deadly rally
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man has taken a plea deal in connection with an assault on a marcher in last year’s deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Daily Progress reports that 52-year-old Donald Blakney was originally charged with felony malicious wounding but took a plea deal Tuesday that downgraded that charge to misdemeanor assault.

He received a suspended sentence of 12 months.

Prosecutors said Blakney hit Eric Mattson on the back of the head with a cane during the August 2017 Unite the Right rally. Mattson, of Arkansas, testified that he’s a member of the Hiwaymen, a conservative group that attends protests across the country.

Blakney told police he was angry after being subjected to verbal assault, spit on and threatened. He expressed remorse when told about Mattson’s injuries.

Kansas
College student guilty of killing ex-girlfriend
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas State University student has been convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend in Wichita.

The Wichita Eagle reports that jurors found 29-year-old Dane Owens guilty Tuesday of first-degree felony murder and aggravated burglary in the October 2016 killing of 22-year-old Rowena Irani. She was studying psychology at Wichita State University.

Prosecutors say Owens parked his truck several houses away from her home, walked through an unlocked door and fired at her when she walked around a corner. He then left the home without helping her, throwing her cellphone in one pond and his gun in another.

Her mother found her several hours later suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, and Irani died the next day. The defense said the shooting wasn’t intentional.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 20.

Louisiana
Appeals court upholds life ­sentence in molester’s ­slaying
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A state appeals court has affirmed the second-degree murder conviction and life sentence for a Louisiana man in the 2015 stabbing and strangulation of his girlfriend’s convicted molester.

Jace Crehan argued that he was only guilty of manslaughter because he only initially intended to scare Robert Noce Jr. in 2015. Noce was found dead less than two weeks after he pleaded contest to carnal knowledge of Crehan’s girlfriend, Brittany Monk. He was sentenced to probation.

The Advocate reports a three-judge appeals panel on Monday noted that the jury had rejected the now 24-year-old Crehan’s assertion that he was “forced” to kill Noce because of a “failure of the judicial system.”

Monk was 17 and pregnant when she and Crehan broke into Noce’s trailer. She’s appealing her 35-year sentence, arguing it’s excessive.