By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - A 17-year-old sentenced Tuesday for beating and raping his 57-year-old literacy tutor holds a dubious distinction: Both a veteran judge and long-time prosecutor say he's possibly the most violent, antisocial defendant they have ever seen.

The Hamilton County teen, tried as an adult, is going to prison until he turns 32 - and has been declared a sexual predator who must register his address with police for the rest of his life.

"(He) might be the most dangerous human being I've ever prosecuted in all these years," said Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Tolbert, who has 25 years experience.

Although the teen stands just 4-foot-10 and weighs only 100 pounds, he has committed sex crimes and assaults, has threatened to hurt judges, counselors and lawyers - and brags about his aggression, court records show.

"I can find no redeeming values for this person," said Common Pleas Judge Matthew Crehan on Tuesday, as he sentenced him to 15 years in prison for rape and felonious assault. "... This man is a danger to the community. ... He has resisted all efforts at rehabilitation."

The teen's March 7 attack on his tutor, which happened in a basement classroom of the Hamilton YWCA, was "one of the most brutal I've seen in my 15 years on the bench," Crehan said.

The woman spent two days in the hospital.

"I knocked her down and started kicking her. ... I was trying to kick her face each time, but she kept rolling around," the teen told Bobbie Hopes, a psychologist. She wrote: "(He) was asked if he felt sorry for what he did, and he answered, 'I wish I could, but nope. ... I really don't care about her.'"

Defense lawyer Brad Kraemer said his client is mildly mentally retarded and: "This is a boy who did a man's act." Kraemer said he doubts his client fully understands the consequences of his actions.

In court Tuesday, the victim, a small, gray-haired woman, made a statement; the teen stared straight at Crehan, avoiding looking at her. "I want you to know that you have hurt my family and me very deeply," she said.

"I believe that anyone can be forgiven. ... I do believe in you and that you can change your life for the good." Still, she said her attacker deserved to be punished until he could prove that he had changed.

She asked Crehan to impose the maximum sentence of 18 years.

Tolbert said it took guts for the woman to stand near the teen and speak firmly yet forgivingly to him. "I would not have been so kind," he said.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com