Robert Nicely was sentenced to three years in prison Friday in the Auglaize County Common Pleas Court for burglary and attempted gross sexual imposition.
Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — A Greenville man was sentenced to three years in prison Friday in the Auglaize County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty in August to burglary and attempted gross sexual imposition.
The sentence for Robert Nicely, 32, also included a $5,000 fine and Nicely has to register as a tier I sex offender, requiring him to provide law enforcement with his information every year for 15 years.
The sentence was not mandatory, so Nicely would eventually be eligible to apply for judicial release.
Assistant Prosecutor Josh Muhlenkamp said the state wanted Nicely to receive four years in prison on the two counts and said Nicely failed to fully accept responsibility for his actions.
Nicely’s attorney, Christopher Bucio, argued Nicely was previously successful when he was given intervention in lieu of conviction on a separate charge and asked Judge Frederick Pepple to consider a sentence of probation with treatment.
Nicely said he’s worked a full-time job since he was 16 years old to provide for his children and would like to get back to work and care for his kids. He said he doesn’t plan on coming back to Auglaize County after this.
“They don’t have anybody else in their lives besides my parents,” Nicely said about his kids. “Without me, they don’t have a chance of having anyone else in their corner when they become adults.”
The incident that led to the charges occurred on April 24. A 21-year-old woman called the police to report there was a man she didn’t know in her apartment who touched her while she was asleep. Nicely touched her private area over the blankets and told her not to scream and asked her if she wanted to smoke marijuana with him.
Police discovered Nicely lived in the apartment across from the woman and had a key to her apartment which was found during a search. The woman also identified Nicely in a police lineup.
At his change of plea hearing, Nicely said he didn’t know the woman and didn’t know he had a copy of her apartment key. He said he found the key outside of her door and went in to ask if she wanted to smoke marijuana. The landlord of the apartments was Nicely’s employer, and Nicely helped the landlord remodel the apartments.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
