LIMA, Ohio — A man from Allen County will spend 42.5 years in prison after he and his girlfriend got a minor addicted to narcotics and then trafficked her from 2018 to 2020, according to a release from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
“This couple sowed the seeds of degradation: addiction, violence and sexual abuse – and will now reap the grim reality of decades behind bars,” Yost said. “My hope is that these sentences empower the once-victim, to recognize she’s a survivor so she can reclaim her true identity.”
Grant Rose, 58, of Bluffton, Ohio, was found guilty Friday the following charges:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony.
- Thirteen counts of trafficking in persons, each a first-degree felony.
- One count of promoting prostitution, a fourth-degree felony.
The judge immediately sentenced him to 42.5 years behind bars.
His co-defendant and girlfriend at the time, Susan Waldendzik, 42, of Bluffton, pleaded guilty on Feb. 1 to two counts of trafficking in persons, both first-degree felonies. Based on the plea, she will serve a mandatory sentence of 18 years in prison. When she is released, she will be required to register as a Tier 2 sex offender for 25 years.
Based on an investigation from the Lima Police Department, investigators determined that from July 2018 and December 2020, Rose and Waldendzik trafficked the minor.
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