A Painesville Township man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for sexually abusing three girls, two of whom were 3 years old when the abuse began more than 20 years ago. A Lake County Common Pleas judge imposed the maximum sentence on David Karl Clelland, according to FOX 8, citing a sheriff’s office press release. He will be eligible for parole after 20 years.
The case began with a single report. In March, a girl told the Lake County Sheriff’s Office that Clelland had sexually assaulted her repeatedly from 2020 to 2023, beginning when she was 10, Cleveland 19 News reported.
One report led detectives to two more victims
After an investigation by the sheriff’s Detective Bureau, a Lake County grand jury indicted Clelland in April on three counts of rape, one count of sexual battery and five counts of gross sexual imposition.
As detectives continued working the case, they learned of two more victims. Lt. Larry Harpster, who commands the Detective Bureau, said those girls were abused over multiple years between 2003 and 2008, and both were 3 when it started. In August, a grand jury returned a second indictment charging Clelland with additional counts of rape and gross sexual imposition.
On Sept. 15, Clelland pleaded guilty to rape from the first indictment and to gross sexual imposition involving both victims named in the second indictment.
Why decades-old abuse could still be charged
The case shows how the law accounts for the years it often takes children to disclose abuse. Ohio allows rape prosecutions up to 25 years after the offense, and for crimes involving the abuse of a child, the state’s statute of limitations generally doesn’t begin to run until the victim turns 18. Ohio lawmakers have repeatedly introduced bills that would eliminate the time limit for rape prosecutions entirely.
In this case, the earliest abuse fell well within those limits, and investigators were able to connect it to Clelland only because the most recent victim came forward.
Anyone with concerns about a child’s safety can reach the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
