Stepdad Guilty in Rape
John Goff used syringe to impregnate girl, 16, faces maximum 35 years
Stow man defiant; verdicts shock family
By Stephanie Warsmith, Beacon Journal staff writer
Originally published in The Beacon Journal, August 30, 2002
Impregnating your teen-age stepdaughter with a syringe is rape, a Summit County jury ruled Thursday.
After only 2½ hours of deliberations, a jury found John Goff guilty of five felonies, including two counts of rape. Judge John Adams revoked Goff's bond and ordered him immediately taken into custody.
Goff, who has maintained he did no wrong, yanked his tie from his neck and threw it on the seat beside him when the verdicts were read. He then stripped off his suit jacket and stood defiantly to allow deputies to cuff his hands.
Goff's friends and family—including his mother and father—wept and comforted one another as he was led from the packed courtroom. His family members expressed outrage over the verdicts.
"We are shocked, though we figured this was the way it was going to go,'' Art Grimm, Goff's brother-in-law, said outside the courtroom. "They did not pull in enough of the family to give testimony on John's behalf.''
Carolynne Cain, Goff's niece, was the sole family member to testify on behalf of Goff.
Prosecutors say that in 1998, Goff used a syringe to impregnate Shenna Grimm, his then 16-year-old stepdaughter. He wanted a child and his wife, Narda, had had a hysterectomy.
They say Goff threatened to kill his wife—Grimm's mother—if Grimm refused to have his child. She gave birth in September 1999 to a son. DNA tests showed Goff to be the child's father.
Goff's attorneys argued that Grimm agreed to the pregnancy and that their client did not use any threats or force. Therefore, they said, there was no crime.
Goff, 41, of Stow, was convicted of two counts each of rape and sexual battery and one count of child endangering. He faces a maximum of 35 years in prison and will be held at the Summit County Jail pending his Oct. 8 sentencing.
Ironically, Goff was convicted under a rape law that he helped create. In the mid-1990s, he lobbied to change Ohio's law to make insertion with any object rape. Prior to that, only sexual intercourse constituted rape under the law.
John and Narda Goff campaigned for the law change after a man accused of sexually molesting Shenna Grimm was acquitted because of the legal definition of rape.
During closing arguments, defense attorney Tim Ivey quoted Thomas Jefferson and gave examples of controversial issues that have become more accepted over time. He said homosexuality was once a crime, but states are now passing laws to allow same-sex marriages. He also pointed to more acceptance of cloning and trying teen-agers as adults.
Ivey urged jurors to examine whether Goff actually committed a crime—and to put aside whether they approved of his actions.
"A vote of not guilty does not mean you approve of Mr. Goff,'' he said. "A vote of not guilty does not mean you approve of his method of insemination. A vote of not guilty means the state did not meet its burden of proof.''
But Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi argued that regardless of whether Goff actually threatened Grimm, he still committed a crime by having a child with her. He said Grimm could have felt threatened into bearing his baby just by the virtue of his being her stepfather.
"There has been no law passed that says, 'If you are a stepfather, you may impregnate your daughter,' '' he said. "It's still illegal in this state to do what he did.''
LoPrinzi called what Goff did "the unthinkable'' and told jurors Grimm had to undergo counseling, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and tried to kill herself after giving birth. He urged jurors to take her testimony to heart.
He said many people initially had trouble believing Grimm's allegations—until the DNA test proved her child's paternity.
"It is time for once for somebody to believe her,'' he said.
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said her office plans to seek a stiff sentence against Goff.
"This was the most bizarre case I have ever seen in my history of working with sexual crime victims,'' she said.
Grimm, who was not in the courtroom, was notified by a victim's advocate about the verdicts. Today is her 20th birthday.
"She is very relieved at the verdict,'' said her attorney, William Whitaker.
Goff's attorneys were surprised by the short time the jury took to deliberate. They plan to appeal.
"I thought they would deliberate longer and give this more consideration,'' Ivey said.
Jurors were escorted from the courthouse by deputies and declined to speak with the media.
Walsh said she thinks jurors found Grimm to be a credible witness.
But, Walter Madison, Goff's other attorney, said he thinks the jurors' revulsion of Goff's conduct led to their swift guilty verdicts.
"It's obvious from the way they deliberated that their moral objections were very strong,'' Madison said. "I fear they were not properly cautioned or admonished to deal with the facts and laws.''
