NATION : Rep. Lukens Sentenced to 30 Days, Fined $500 for Sex With a Minor
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rep. Donald E. Lukens (R-Ohio) was sentenced today to 30 days in jail and fined $500 for having sex with a 16-year-old girl last fall.
Lukens, 58, did not address Franklin County Juvenile Court Judge Ronald Solove before the sentence and remained silent throughout the hearing.
He was ordered to begin serving the sentence next Wednesday unless he posts a $100,000 bond while he appeals. Lukens’ lawyer, Thomas Tyack, objected to the amount of the bond, but Solove said, “The bond is eminently reasonable for a man with no remorse whatsoever.â€
The judge set aside part of the guilty verdict returned by the jury, declaring Lukens, a hard-line conservative, innocent of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. That charge related to paying the girl, Rosie Coffman, $40 to have sex with him in his Columbus apartment last November. However, Solove let stand the guilty verdict on contributing to the unruliness of a minor.
Early in his career, Lukens teamed with several GOP arch-conservatives to smash the moderate wing of the Republican Party and nominate Barry Goldwater for President in 1964. In 1968, he was one of the first to boost Ronald Reagan for the presidency.
Lukens’ 10-year marriage ended in divorce in 1983, and soon thereafter he was battling throat cancer. A Bible appeared on his Senate desk, and he constantly carries a cup of water to lubricate his raspy vocal chords.
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