Howland man found guilty in animal and child sexual abuse case | News, Sports, Jobs

Staff photo / Chris McBride Trent Addicott, 27, sits with his back to the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court gallery during his trial on 11 counts of sexual abuse of children and animals in Judge Ronald Rice's courtroom Tuesday. He was found guilty on all 11 counts.

WARREN – Jurors took 30 minutes Tuesday to convict a Howland man on 11 counts of sexual abuse of children and animals, ending a day-long trial that included opening and closing arguments and jury selection.

Trumbull County District Court Judge Ronald Rice set a September 3 sentencing date for 27-year-old Trent Addicott after reading guilty verdicts on four counts of facilitating sexually oriented conduct with a minor, two counts of facilitating obscene speech with a minor (all second-degree felonies) and five counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse of an animal.

A Trumbull County grand jury indicted him in mid-June. Addicott was arrested in May after Howland police and Trumbull County Sheriff's Office TAG detectives obtained a search warrant for Addicott's Fairview Avenue residence.

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman then shared his thoughts on the quick verdict.

“He is guilty on all counts, the evidence was overwhelming,” Said Wildman. “Almost everything was captured on video, the acts are obviously cruel, child abuse, animal abuse, it covers all areas. We are glad the jury acted as it did. We think it was the appropriate result.”

At the upcoming sentencing, Wildman said Addicott faces a prison sentence of 48 to 52 years and will be registered as a Category 2 sex offender.

“He has failed to take responsibility. It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which we do not seek to hold him fully accountable for his terrible actions,” Said Wildman.

The prosecution relied on photo and video evidence initially reported into evidence by Snapchat. The video footage shown to jurors during the trial shows five instances of Addicott engaging in sexual acts with a dog, one of them in the presence of a two-year-old child. Photos were also presented as evidence showing Addicott touching himself while the child is nearby.

Wildman explained to jurors how the flagged videos sent a cyber tip to expert witness Arabelle Skelley, an analyst with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, who testified that she reviewed the flagged material and sent a subpoena to the internet service provider.

The information was linked to Addicott through an email address, an IP address, a cell phone number and an address associated with the defendant, which prompted Skelley to contact the Howland Township Police Department.

The case landed on the desk of Howland Police Detective Nicholas Brancaccio, who conducted a search of the Fairlawn Ave. residence where the videos of Addicott were recorded on May 30. Brancaccio said a nervous but cooperative Addicott readily provided information that all evidence of “Child sexual abuse material” The information investigators were looking for was on an iPad.

After reviewing the footage, Brancaccio said he was able to identify Addicott using facial recognition of him and the minor pictured in the video. He also recognized features of the house, such as furniture, that matched the pictures he took of the house during the search.

The defendant's attorney, Jeffrey Goodman, disputed the lack of evidence that specifically linked his client to the creation of the footage.

Goodman asked the jury not to “blinded” by the content of the video evidence.