Photo by Robert A. DeFrank Christianson Sean Hill, left, appears for sentencing in Belmont County Common Pleas Court Tuesday with his attorney, Brent Clyburn.

A man who raped a young child repeatedly over the course of two years was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison on Tuesday.

Christianson Sean Hill was told he will spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the rape of a child, a felony of the first degree. He also was designated a Tier 3 sex offender and child victim offender.

The victim, a 12-year-old girl, said Hill, 31, of Wheeling had threatened to harm her family if she told anyone about his sexual contact with her. According to the case files, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation matched DNA from Hill with the alleged victim’s rape kit.

Hill heard his sentence when he appeared before Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato on Tuesday. Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry asked that the life sentence be imposed. Hill declined to comment.

Fregiato reviewed the facts of the case and statements from the victim and victim’s family.

“The victim, who is a 12-year-old female, reported being forcibly raped by (Hill),” Fregiato said. “Hill had been sexually assaulting her for the past two years.”

Fregiato also cited statements that Hill threatened the victim’s family if she told anyone.

“Hill told her that he would kill her and hurt her mother and brother if she ever told,” Fregiato said, then referred to reports from the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services. “He had been raping her for years and has threatened to kill her family if she told anyone.”

The judge read a statement from the victim, which described lasting emotional harm that resulted from Hill’s actions. He read a further statement from the child’s mother.

“He would purchase or acquire pets for her and then torture or kill them or get rid of them as a way to keep her traumatized. There were seven pets,” Fregiato said. “Speak of nightmares and flashbacks.”

Fregiato also reviewed Hill’s prior criminal record, which includes multiple allegations that were dismissed as well as a conviction for wanton endangerment involving a firearm, a conviction for driving under the influence and a conviction for theft.

“What we have is an absolute incredible situation,” Fregiato said.

Afterward, Fry described the evidentiary process and the method of building the case against Hill.

“The little girl, she’s the one who had the courage to come forward and tell us what had been going on for two years. The day that she did that, she had gone to school and he had raped her prior to her going to school. She’s the one that got us onto him,” Fry said, adding that the victim indicated where physical evidence might be found. “We then had scientific evidence which corroborated what she was saying. … From that point, the investigation proceeded and culminated today with the defendant being sentenced to life in a penitentiary.”

Fry added that the sentence fit the crime.

“The sentence was entirely appropriate. This guy for two years had threatened this little girl with physical harm if she told anybody … threatened her that he would harm her family members,” Fry said. “A life sentence is entirely what he deserved.”

Bellaire Police Chief Michael Kovalyk commended the victim for having the courage to come forward.

“We hope and pray for the recovery, through therapy and counseling, of the victim that was traumatized by the defendant in this crime,” Kovalyk said.

The police chief said cooperation among agencies was important to solving the case. He said the Bellaire Police Department worked with the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department and its Major Crimes Unit, the Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office, and the county Department of Job and Family Services Children’s Services division. He commended Harmony House Children’s Advocacy Center for counseling the victim and her family, along with Bellaire Local School District officials who contacted law enforcement to report the situation. He added that the Ohio BCI’s rapid response in analyzing evidence was helpful to the investigation.

“The cooperation of all these people, all these officers and agencies, brought about a life-sentence for the defendant,” Kovalyk said.