Judge at 41-year sentencing of convicted pimp: ‘I’m going to give you enough time in your own cage’

A Dayton man termed a pimp by prosecutors called himself a “sacrificial lamb” during his Thursday sentencing to more than four decades in prison for directing women to keep a former prostitute in a cage and attacking another woman after the first victim escaped.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Skelton called James Cargle, 31, of Dayton, a “predator” who committed what the judge called one of the most egregious, premeditated crimes he’s ever seen.

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“You put a human being in a dog cage,” Skelton said. “You kept the human being in that dog cage and terrorized that person for over 30 hours.

“That’s just one victim. The other was a violent rape. I could go on and get emotional about this. But all that I can tell you is I’m going to give you enough time in your own cage to think about this.”

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Seven months after Cargle turned down a plea agreement for 10 to 15 years and the judge warned “be careful what you wish for,” Cargle was sentenced to 41 years for rape, kidnapping and assault charges. He was found guilty by a jury on May 4.

“If it was up to (Cargle), I would not be standing here today speaking to you,” the first victim said during Cargle’s sentencing. “I would be dead.”

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The other victim, Amy (McMahan) Hardin, was beaten and raped with a window weight after the first victim escaped. Hardin, tied up and naked, jumped out of the trunk of a moving car to escape.

This news organization doesn’t usually name victims of sex crimes, but Hardin previously shared her experiences with reporters. Hardin was not at Thursday’s sentencings but did submit a letter to Skelton.

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Cargle said Dayton police detectives didn’t do a thorough investigation to look at other suspects or allegations that co-defendants were extorting him.

“Sadly, for me, we will never know because any investigation of DNA, touch DNA or fingerprints was ever conducted,” Cargle said. “Instead of facts, detectives relied solely upon the credibility of a group of drug addicts who had everything to lose and no reason to tell the truth.”

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Prosecutors said the testimony hurt Cargle at trial and that the additional decades beyond the 10 to 15 years in the old plea deal were justified.

“This is a huge sentence that we are very pleased with,” assistant prosecutor Erin Claypoole said. “The facts of this case are egregious.”

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Cargle must serve the entire sentence with no eligibility for judicial release or earned days of credit. Cargle earned 548 days of jail-time credit.

Defense attorney Marshall Lachman wouldn’t comment on whether the sentence was fair. Lachman said there would be an appeal and perhaps a motion for a new trial based on a change to a co-defendant’s plea deal.

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“The judge’s decision is what it is,” Lachman said. “James has maintained his innocence throughout, and he will continue to fight.”

Co-defendants Cassidy Lake and Jennifer Rice, who said they both did methamphetamine that weekend, also were sentenced Wednesday. Skelton said it was hard to decide their sentences.

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Lake, 23, and Rice, 41, both were sentenced to five years in prison. Lake must register as a sex offender. Both earned 543 days of jail-time credit.

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Skelton said there was no so-called “trial tax” in sentencing for Cargle by not taking a plea deal.

“I commend people that take cases to trial and fight them hard, as you have done in this case,” Skelton said to Cargle’s defense attorneys. “So, there’s no trial tax in this case.”

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The judge said he hadn’t heard testimony from victims and co-defendants last fall.

“The danger a person has when they don’t accept a plea agreement is that the trier of fact and the ultimate sentence of a person will hear things that they don’t like,” Skelton said. “Judges are human and that affects you. So that’s, to me, not a trial tax, but a trial reality.”

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