Child rapist sentenced to consecutive life sentences
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (February 9, 2023) – A child rapist from New Philadelphia will serve two consecutive life sentences with a chance for parole in 20 years.
Jeffrey Pringle, 60, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and four counts of gross sexual imposition with sexually violent predator specifications for crimes he committed against two juveniles between 2017 and 2022.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Ernest on Thursday handed down sentences for each offense. Most will be served concurrently, but two life sentences will be served consecutively. Each life sentence includes eligibility for parole in 10 years. By ordering them consecutive, Ernest doubled that time.
Defense attorneys asked for a life sentence with a chance for parole in 15 years, but Ernest opted for 20 years to life.
County Prosecutor Ryan Styer recommended the harsher sentence, calling the crimes disturbing and monstrous, and describing Pringle as manipulative, even as Pringle’s pastor wrote he had a “repentant heart.”
Pringle read an apology as his victims and their families cried in court. He asked to face the victims, but Styer objected and Ernest told him not to.
Pringle is now labeled a sex offender of the highest tier, so if he gets out on parole when he is 80 or older, he will have to register as a tier three sex offender.