Man to spend 2 years in prison for strangling 4-year-old girl in Harrison Twp.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

A 32-year-old man will spend two years in prison in an April child abuse case involving a 4-year-old girl in Harrison Twp.

Richard Lamar King was sentenced Thursday by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Montgomery to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty Aug. 15 to one count of strangulation.

Richard King

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

He was indicted May 16 for two counts of strangulation and one misdemeanor assault charge. As part of his plea agreement, the other two charges were dismissed.

At the time of the April 4 incident, King had a warrant issued by Ohio Adult Parole for charges of abduction and felony domestic violence, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies along with parole officers and the U.S. Marshals Service had been working to find him. He was arrested May 16 in Dayton.

“Today’s sentencing of Richard King is deeply meaningful for our department and community, especially as this assault happened on the very day Ohio’s strangulation law came into effect,” Sheriff Rob Streck said in a released statement. “It reinforces our commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of our community — especially those who are most vulnerable.”

Ohio was the last state in the U.S. to have a specific law against strangulation. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill into law in early January, and it took effect 90 days later, on April 4. The crime is a felony of the fifth- to second-degree depending on the level of harm.

In addition to King’s prison term, he also will serve up to three years of probation and sanctions for violating parole.

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