GIRARD - A former Girard youth softball coach convicted on Thursday of sexually abusing a minor learned his fate on Friday.

Forty-year-old Shane Genetta was sentenced to 120 to 125 years in prison on six counts of rape, four counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, and six counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
 
A jury found Genetta guilty of these charges after about four hours of deliberations on Thursday.
 
Before his arrest, Genetta served as the head coach for a team in the Girard Youth Softball Association. Court records show his alleged abuse dates back to March 2017.
 
“There are moments when I feel like the abuse permanently destroyed parts of me that will never fully heal. It has taken tremendous efforts to remind myself that what happened was not my fault and I was a child trying to make it, trying to survive,” the victim said in a statement read in the courtroom. “I have lived with anxiety since the age of 12. That is constant and overwhelming. My body reacts like there is danger close by even when I am safe.”
 
The victim had testified that Genetta raped her and used objects on her. At one point, the jury was shown a 35-minute video of one of those alleged rapes, and prosecutors said photos were found of the victim without any clothes on.
 

A nurse also testified that she believed Genetta groomed the victim by buying her things in exchange for sex, and that Genetta told the victim he would kill himself if she left him.

The victim says Genetta abused her for ten years by forcing her into sex acts and taking pictures of her without clothes on.

Family members of the victim called Genetta names during the sentencing blaming him for taking the child's light when he was supposed to be a trusted adult. 

"He paraded himself around like a war hero but little did we know he was the war,” a family member said. 

Even with such a lengthy sentence, prosecutors felt it was appropriate for the severity of the crimes.

“The videos were horrific. He recorded himself committing these crimes. The evidence was incontrovertible…and judge Rice and her sentence has made sure that he will never victimize another child again,” Diane Barber, Trumbull County Prosecutor said.

Genetta muttered a short response when asked if he had anything to say in court only stating "at this time I'm just processing everything."

Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice called the videos he took of the abuse his "trophies" adding he traumatized the young victim for life. 

"You ask for mercy now but you did not hear the victims cries to stop," she said to Genetta. "You were hurting her.”

Genetta was not guilty on two counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition. He didn’t indicate if he will file for an appeal in court but would have to serve five years of probation if he ever is released.

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