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WARREN -- A hug outside the Trumbull County courthouse from one of three child sex abuse victims wrapped up the day for Assistant Prosecutor Diane Barber.
The girls thanked her Wednesday after their tormentor was handed two life sentences, plus five years without the possibility of parole.
Just before the verdict against Darrl Mack, 25, of Martin Luther King Boulevard in Youngstown, was read, Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Rice allowed the three sisters, all younger than 10, a chance to address Mack and the courtroom. Only two of them spoke, with the last one spoken for by the mother who also was present in the courtroom.
Mack's charges were three counts of rape and three counts of sexual imposition. He will have to register as a Tier 3 sex offender, which means, if he is released, he will have to provide his address to the sheriff's office four times per year for life.
The oldest girl spoke for six minutes as she described the changes in herself in the aftermath of the abuse.
"Sometimes I would argue with myself and tell myself that it's not my fault, even when I felt like it was my fault," she said. "The only thing I could really do when I felt that way was sleep, because if I stayed up and tried to fight with myself, I would get more stressed, and it would make me cry more."
Her younger sibling spoke softly, her voice hardly allowing her to be heard in the small courtroom. She spoke of being afraid and an uncertainty over whether people would be mad at her for what she endured.
The mother of the three, however, said she forgives Mack and wants to move forward.
Mack showed little remorse.
In a bizarre three-minute response to the victims he quoted founding father John Adams and questioned many circumstances of the case to try to proclaim innocence.
As Mack was ushered out of the courtroom he condemned the courtroom to hell -- just as he did after being found guilty last month. "You're going to hell just like the rest of them. I'll be back."
Mack made it clear he expects to appeal the judges sentencing.
A jury deliberated for about two hours in March before finding Mack guilty to conclude a two-day trial. Mack babysat the three girls during the duration of the abuse, which occurred during the spring of 2021 at the Hampshire House apartment complex in southwest Warren.
Six witnesses were brought to the witness stand over the course of the trial, which included testimony from the children who now are ages 6, 8 and 10, who followed each other to the witness stand under direct questioning from Barber and cross examination from defense attorney Kristin Maxwell.
Barber said she was happy with the judge's sentencing and the closure the case brings to the three children -- calling their presence throughout the trial "powerful.”