Tommie Jefferson, 39, was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison following his conviction in August by an Allen County jury on charges of kidnapping and felonious assault.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — A Lima man convicted by an Allen County jury in August of kidnapping and assaulting his on-again, off-again girlfriend was sentenced Thursday to a minimum of nine years in prison.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Terri Kohlrieser to impose a 13-year sentence for Tommie Jefferson.
After hearing two widely differing versions of events surrounding the September 2022 assault, jurors sided with the victim on two of three counts and found the Lima man guilty of kidnapping and felonious assault. The panel acquitted Jefferson on a count of aggravated burglary related to his unwanted entry into the victim’s home.
Jefferson, 39, has maintained his innocence throughout the case. Prior to sentencing Thursday morning he apologized “for the inconvenience of the state having to spend time, money and manpower on a case that is based on fraudulent accusations.”
The credibility of the victim in the case was a key component throughout the trial.
Prosecutors maintained that Jefferson broke into the Sherman Avenue home of Sharon Epley, assaulted her repeatedly over a span of approximately 12 hours and restrained her from leaving the residence.
Epley admitted from the witness stand during Jefferson’s trial that she had lied to investigators and also under oath during a preliminary hearing about some of the events leading up to her alleged physical abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
She nonetheless insisted that Jefferson caused multiple injuries, including a perforated eardrum, throughout hours of repeated assaults.
The mothers of Epley and Jefferson each addressed the judge prior to the imposition of sentence.
Connie Epley said the incident at the heart of Jefferson’s trial was not the first time the couple’s toxic relationship had gotten physical.
“Is my daughter perfect? No,” Epley said. “Is she afraid of (Jefferson)? Yes.”
Pam Bankston, Jefferson’s mother, said Sharon Epley “lied all over the place” throughout the investigation and trial.
“He’s not perfect; she’s not perfect, and I pray for both of them,” Bankston said. “But no one kidnapped anyone here.”
Kohlrieser sentenced Jefferson to a minimum term of nine years in prison on the kidnapping charge, a felony of the first degree, and a five-year sentence on the felonious assault charge, a second-degree felony. She ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, resulting in a minimum nine-year sentence.
Jefferson received credit for 342 days spent in jail as the case went through the court process. He will be eligible to apply for a judicial release in just over four years.
