Clenney pleaded guilty on Thursday in Butler County Common Pleas Court. As part of a plea agreement, Clenney plead guilty to 11 felony charges - five counts of rape and six counts of gross sexual imposition. Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Heile said Clenney plead guilty to crimes he commit against each of the six victims.
Judge Jennifer McElfresh sentenced Clenney to 40 years in prison without parole. He was designated a Tier III sexual offender, which requires him to register his residence with the sheriff every 90 days for the rest of his life. He was also sentenced to five years post release control when released from prison.
Before the sentencing, family members of the still-young children under the age of 10 spoke. Two of the victims are now adults. One watched the sentencing via Zoom.
When asked about the length of the sentence, Heile said, “Is there ever enough time for a crime like this? But when we have young victims to get that kind of time without having to put them through a trial, that is a benefit.”
The crimes are part of a “continuous course of action” beginning in Hamilton County and ending in Butler County, according to court documents. They happened from September 2007 to June of this year, according to court documents.
In September, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Clenney that included the original charges as well as 12 counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition involved children under the ages of 10 and 13. The later charges alleged crimes against four additional victims, according to the prosecutor’s office. The offenses were allegedly committed between September 2007 to June 2020.
The remainder of the charges were dismissed.
“It is a terrible tragedy,” Heile said. “So many lives ruined.”
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