JEFFERSON, Ohio (WKBN) – The third person convicted in a child rape case out of Ashtabula County was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Stewart Stacey, 55, of Ashtabula, is the third of three defendants convicted in the rape of several children in Ashtabula County. All were under 10 years old.

Two co-defendants were previously sentenced to prison in the case. Cherise Griffith, 44, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years in 2020, and Dannail Obhof, 36, was sentenced to 25 years in prison the same year.

Stacey was found guilty of two counts of child rape with force and four counts of gross sexual imposition.

Griffith was found guilty of four counts of child rape, and Obhof was convicted of four counts of rape.

The case was investigated by the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

“The forceful violation of children is unthinkable, heinous evil that deserves the harshest punishment possible,” said Ohio Attorney General David Yost. “I’m grateful for the jury’s discernment and for Senior Assistant Attorney General Kara Keating, who secured this life sentence. This defendant will rape no children in prison. Punishment is important, but keeping this man away from children and the rest of society is even more important.”