Background: News footage of DeMarcus Pleasure in court on Nov. 7 (WDTN). Inset: DeMarcus Pleasure (Montgomery County Sheriff's Office).
An Ohio man who pleaded guilty to abducting his 12-year-old cousin and pouring bleach on his face will spend the next few years in prison.
DeMarcus Pleasure, 38, was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to a charge of abduction. Pleasure was also originally charged with kidnapping and assault, and those charges were dismissed as part of his plea deal. According to courtroom reporting by local NBC affiliate WDTN, Pleasure admitted to taking his 12-year-old cousin from his home in Dayton and forcing him into a car on Feb. 22.
From there, Pleasure and 33-year-old Reka Jarmon were accused of bringing the boy to another location, where they allegedly assaulted him by pouring bleach on his face.
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According to an affidavit obtained by the Dayton Daily News, Pleasure and Jarmon allegedly struck the boy several times while in his home before forcing him into a vehicle. The pair brought the boy to another home where the alleged assault continued, including the assault with the bleach. The affidavit stated that the boy "sustained injuries to his eyes and face as a result of this assault."
Emergency services were called to the second location, and the boy was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries. He has since recovered.
The Dayton Daily News and local CBS affiliate WHIO both reported that Dayton police said the boy might have been suspected of sexual assault, but this information was not confirmed.
Jarmon was also charged with kidnapping, assault, and abduction. Her case is ongoing.
In court for his sentencing, Pleasure told the judge, "I made a mistake." He explained that at the time, he did not consider taking his own relative to be an abduction. "I lived with this little boy. I raised him as my own," he said of the victim.
Pleasure was sentenced to three years in prison for abduction with credit for 243 days he has already served.
