Lemasters sentenced

By Jane Beathard

Staff Writer

A London man convicted of amassing a library of child pornography from the Internet will spend the next eight years in prison, following Monday’s sentencing in Madison County Common Pleas Court

Donald Lemasters, 44, pleaded no contest in August to 24 counts of pandering and possessing child pornography and one count of possessing criminal tools. The tool was his personal computer.

Judge Robert D. Nichols ordered Lemasters classified as a Tier 2 sex offender and said he would oppose any effort to obtain early release for the man. The sentence is open to appeal.

Monday’s lengthy hearing concluded a case that started nearly two years ago when deputies with a Franklin County task force investigating Internet crimes against children noted hundreds of pornographic images downloaded to a computer in London. A subpoena tracked that Internet address to Lemasters’ home-office computer on Liberty Street.

During an April 19, 2011 raid on the home, deputies and London police officers arrested Lemasters and confiscated the computer and DVDs containing 170,000 images of children in sexually explicit situations. No local children were depicted or involved, police chief Dave Wiseman emphasized at the time.

The county grand jury indicted Lemasters in August 2011. He was released on bond, after local children’s services workers said he was not a threat to his own five children, according to defense attorney Eric Hoffman.

Hoffman was one of several attorneys retained or appointed to defend Lemasters over the years, delaying a trial that was eventually set for July 17, 2012.

A day before the trial, Lemasters disappeared. He was apprehended in August by U.S. Marshals who found the man hiding in the attic of his parents’ Warren home, Nichols said.

While in Tri-County Regional Jail, Lemasters was beaten by two fellow inmates, including convicted murderer Tane Osborne. Lemasters sustained eye and head injuries as a result.

Hoffman said Lemasters and his family suffered physically and mentally during the prosecution.

Lemasters’ wife told Nichols she was unaware of her husband’s deviant activities. She portrayed him as a devoted father and good provider who lost his $80,000-per-year job after the 2011 arrest. She said the family’s income has decreased 75 percent and her savings is exhausted. She is in danger of losing the home. Her children, all younger than 11, do not understand why their father is gone. She works to prevent their harassment and bullying by other children.

Hoffman argued for a minimum sentence, saying Lemasters cooperated with authorities after his arrest and admitted wrong doing. The attorney described Lemasters’ affinity for child pornography as a “disease or addiction” that requires ongoing treatment. He introduced a letter from Rev. Mark Ghiloni, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in London, verifying that Lemasters obtained counseling in Columbus through the church. The parish picked up half the cost from a designated charity fund that pays rent, utility and a variety of bills for those in need.

In Lemasters’ case, it wasn’t a lot of money, Fr. Ghiloni said.

Counseling stopped for financial reasons. The priest offered to secure additional help for Lemasters and doubted the man will get proper treatment in prison.

Hoffman argued his client did not join a “file sharing” network to obtain pornographic images and took steps to prevent others from viewing them on his computer.

“He set up a firewall to keep files from being shared,” Hoffman said.

Assistant county prosecutor Kirsten Gross disagreed. She said Lemasters shared files and copied hundreds of images to DVDs. Those DVDs were catalogued and stored in the Lemasters bedroom.

Gross said seasoned investigators were shocked by the nature and quantity of the images. Some depicted adult men raping infants and toddlers. She verified the identities of some young victims through the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.

She said Lemasters minimized his actions, saying he thought the girls pictured were ages 16 to 18.

Prior to sentencing, Nichols said Lemasters downloaded and viewed the pornography for sexual gratification.

“That weighs heavily on what you will do in the future,” he said.

Donald Lemasters