The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Eastlake man wants sentence changed
43-year-old pleaded guilty to rape, sexual battery charges
An Eastlake man who received the maximum sentence on sexual battery and rape charges is appealing Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O’Donnell’s decision.
Christopher Banas, 43, was sentenced to 26 years in prison
April 24 after pleading guilty a month earlier to one count first-degree felony rape and three counts of third-degree felony sexual battery.
The charges against Banas span seven years and began when the victim was 11 years old. The victim was known to Banas.
Banas’ brief to the 11th District Court of Appeals was filed by Chief Assistant Lake County Public Defender Melissa Blake. She argued in the appeal that O’Donnell “failed to acknowledge or consider” that one of the purposes of felony sentencing: effective rehabilitation.
“This omission is concerning in a situation such as this, where
Mr. Banas received a maximum consecutive sentence,” Blake wrote. “Furthermore, the evaluations of Mr. Banas indicated a need for treatment, specifically noting counseling for pedophilic traits, and noting Mr. Banas’s clinical dependence on substances.”
Blake cited a case recently decided by the 11th District Court of Appeals to argue that O’Donnell erroneously relied on Banas’s relationship to the victim to elevate the seriousness of his conduct. The NewsHerald is withholding the specifics of Banas’s relationship to the victim to prevent possible identifying information.
The case referenced by Blake involves Anthony Polizzi, a former Cornerstone Christian Academy teacher and coach, who was sentenced to the maximum 33 years in prison by O’Donnell after Polizzi pleaded to six counts of sexual battery and two counts of gross sexual imposition involving two students.
The 11th District Court of Appeals overturned Polizzi sentence and sent the case back to O’Donnell for resentencing.
In that case, the appellate judges’ decision stated that Polizzi’s sentences for sexual battery “should not have been elevated based on his status as a teacher to the victims, as this is a necessary element” to be charged with the offenses in the first place. Blake argues the same applies to Banas.
Polizzi has not yet been resentenced. The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to have the appellate court’s decision overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Blake argued that O’Donnell also erred in finding that Banas posed a threat to the public at large. His victim was known to him, not a member of the general public, she said. The victim was the same on all charges against Banas.
“He was at a low to moderate risk of reoffending and his crime was very personal crime,” Blake wrote.
She said that Banas expressed remorse and responsibility throughout the case. O’Donnell did not find Banas remorseful at sentencing.
“I never put a stop to it, I should have walked away,” Banas said to O’Donnell.
O’Donnell countered, “Well, I mean you’re the one who did it. You say ‘put a stop to it,’ but you’re the one in control of it right?”
Banas told the judge “ignorance and stupidity” were the reasons he didn’t walk away. He also told the judge that the victim never told him to stop.
“Does that mean it was somehow consensual,” O’Donnell asked the defendant.
Banas said yes.
“I was never told to stop one time,” Banas said.
O’Donnell called that one of the most ridiculous things he’s ever heard.
“I can’t believe I heard that,” he said.
The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office has not yet filed a response to the appeal. Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Carolyn Mulligan asked O’Donnell at sentencing to give Banas at least 25 years in prison. Anything less than that would demean the seriousness of the offense, she said.
“Those (factors) that make the offense more serious are quite frankly off the charts,” Mulligan said. “The injury is exacerbated by the age of the victim. The victim suffered serious psychological harm, there’s absolutely no question. She continues to suffer. He held a position of trust and that his relationship with her facilitated the offense.”