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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Sexual Assault of 8-Year-old Child

April 29, 2025, Shane Art, 38, of Zanesville, OH appeared in front of visiting Judge Dan Hogan in a Muskingum County Court to receive his sentence after being convicted at a jury trial of two counts of gross sexual imposition; felonies of the third degree.

Judge Hogan, a visiting Judge appointed by the Supreme Court because of a conflict, imposed a prison term of 60 months in prison for each count and ordered that each count be served concurrently. The State charged and convicted the defendant on each of these acts separately. The maximum sentence for each act was 60 months. The concurrent sentence means that Art will serve his sentence for each count at the same time resulting in a total prison sentence of 5 years.

Art must also register as a Tier 2 Sex Offender. He is required to register every 180 days for 25 years. Failure to do so could result in new felony charges with additional time in prison. Additionally, he will be on post release control for a minimum of at least 5 years after he is released.

Details of the Case:

In October of 2023, after being picked up from school, the child informed a family member about what happened to her the night before. The victim reported to the trusted family member that the night before, Shane Art entered her bedroom in the middle of the night and rubbed his “no-no” (penis) on the outside of her underwear from her “bug” (vagina) to her bottom. The child also reported that Shane Art grabbed her butt. At the time of the crime, Shane Art was living in the same home as the victim.

Family members rushed to the Zanesville Police Department with the child to file an official report. Next, the family traveled to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where forensic interviewers interviewed the victim and collected a sexual assault kit.

Sexual assault kits include several items that are used to collect and preserve evidence after a sexual assault is committed. Items in this kit can include swabs, collection of bodily fluids, hairs, fingernail scrapings, and other evidence that may pertain to a case. Collecting evidence using these kits as soon as possible after a sexual assault happens is often the most important part of prosecuting a sexual assault case.

During interviews, Art denied the accusations and agreed to an oral DNA swab.

On October 28, 2024, after failing a drug test, the Court revoked Art’s bond for violating the conditions of his bond. He remained in jail until he received his sentencing April 29, 2025.

Thanks to the urgency taken by the victim’s family members and the detectives on the case, DNA obtained from the victim’s sexual assault kit was able to be compared to the DNA swab obtained from the defendant. This comparison showed evidence linking Art’s Y-STR DNA to the forensic evidence collected at the hospital. Y-STR DNA is present only in the male DNA and can narrow down a person’s identity through their paternal lineage.

This case highlights the importance of discussing with children the need to report inappropriate contact as soon as possible with a safe and trusted adult. The window for collecting evidence of this nature is typically within a maximum of 72 to 96 hours. The longer a person waits to report these kinds of crimes, the more difficult it is to preserve evidence and secure a conviction.

Muskingum County Prosecutor Ron Welch stated: “Prosecuting sexual assault cases is challenging for a number of reasons; delayed reporting, people who choose not to believe a child, lack of injuries associated with the sexual assault that which people wrongly assume would be present, and the sometimes troubled, yet expected, behavior problems of victims. Fortunately, the quick actions of the family and law enforcement allowed DNA to be recovered, which is an incredibly strong piece of evidence.”

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