A West Side man who attacked a Columbus police sergeant with a saw last year and also admitted to raping a juvenile relative years ago was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison.
Donivin L. Cunningham, 23, of Wedgewood Drive, pleaded guilty to felonious assault and two counts of rape and was sentenced by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David E. Cain.
The assault charge stemmed from an incident on April 19, 2013, when Columbus police responding to a business on W. Broad Street were told that Cunningham had fired a gun at the mother of two of his children as she tried to drive away after an argument.
The woman was uninjured. Police said Cunningham ran and hid in a garage behind a house on Eldon Avenue on the Hilltop. Sgt. Charles Cartwright confronted Cunningham, who attacked the officer with a large saw.
Cartwright drove himself to Mount Carmel West hospital and was treated for head, face and arm injuries, police said at the time.
The two counts of rape involved a young relative of Cunningham. Cunningham sexually assaulted the child seven to 10 years ago, when Cunningham was between 12 and 17 years old, Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Hunt said. The victim disclosed the assaults only last year, she said.
Defense attorney Tracy Younkin said his client was "very remorseful."
"He has not tried to sidestep his blame," Younkin told Cain.
Copyright 2014 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
