The man accused of abducting and assaulting a 12-year-old Hall County girl will spend at least the next 15 years in prison.
Antonio Agustin-Ailon appeared in court in Ohio last week. According to the Tuscarawas County District Attorney’s Office, he accepted a negotiated plea and admitted to two counts of statutory rape, two counts of pandering involving a minor, and one count of gross sexual imposition.
Accepting the recommended sentence from prosecutors and the defense, the judge sentenced Agustin-Ailon to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years. He will serve his sentence in the Ohio prison system.
Maria Gomez disappearance
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said Gomez-Perez met Agustin-Ailon online and began chatting with him and other adult men through Facebook Messenger. She told them she was unhappy and wanted to leave home.
On May 29, Agustin-Ailon, a Guatemalan native, drove from Ohio to Gainesville, picked up Gomez-Perez, and took her back to northeast Ohio. She remained there with him until his arrest in late July.
While this guilty plea addresses the crimes committed in Ohio, it does not impact the charges Agustin-Ailon faces in Hall County, including kidnapping.
Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh told WSB-TV he intends to discuss with the Gomez-Perez family whether and when to pursue these charges. Darragh expressed gratitude for the “significant sentence” Agustin-Ailon received in Ohio.
