A40130200

On an unremarkable Tuesday night in January 2000, Sean Gordon planned and executed a brutal robbery of a strip mall GNC vitamin store. The store was staffed by a lone salesclerk, a young woman named S.V., who was a University of Cincinnati student. S.V. answered Gordon’s questions about certain products and went on to attend to other customers. Gordon browsed the store for about an hour. He eventually exited the store but later came back just before the store’s closing time and lingered. S.V. noticed that Gordon had duct tape in his pocket. As the other customers left, S.V. informed Gordon that she was getting ready to close the store. Gordon told her that he needed just another moment.

Finally, Gordon told S.V. that he was going to buy a sports drink and then they started walking to the counter for checkout. As they got to the counter, Gordon stopped as if to let her go by first. Gordon then threw a jacket over her head and wrapped it around her neck. Holding it by the sleeves, he yanked it tight around her throat and told her to be quiet. When he threw her to the floor, S.V. hit her head on the counter. Gordon had her pinned to the floor with his knee in her back and she could not move.

Gordon demanded to know where the money was and how to access the register. She told him there was a key hanging right by the register and he used it to remove all the cash. S.V. managed to hit a silent alarm button while he was distracted. Gordon then taped her hands together and then rolled her over onto her back. He taped her feet together, then her thighs at her knees, and then her hands against her legs, forcing her into a fetal position. He then went to the front of the store and locked the door. When he came back, he grabbed her by the feet and dragged her into the back room.

Once there, he demanded to know how to turn off the lights. S.V. told him about the breaker box and he killed the power to the store. Gordon then pushed her onto her side, lifted her work smock and unbuttoned her pants. Gordon pushed her pants down as far as the duct tape would allow and tried to force his penis into her vagina. He had trouble penetrating her, but he kept trying and trying. He then tried a different approach, putting his mouth on her vagina and penetrating her with his fingers. He then tried to put his penis into her again and failed. Gordon then pulled her into a sitting position, told her if she bit him that he would kill her, and put his penis in her mouth. He forced her to perform fellatio while he continued to threaten to kill her if she bit him. He then forced her onto her side and penetrated her vagina with his penis.

Once finished, Gordon demanded to know where the store surveillance video tape was and how to get it out of the VCR. He unplugged the VCR and took it to the back door of the store. He returned to her, shoved one of her own gloves into her mouth and ordered her not to move until he left. He then went out the back door. When the door automatically locked behind him, S.V. managed to set her hands free and went to the phone to call her fiancé. Before she got a chance, the police were on the scene. A canine search of the area uncovered Gordon, and S.V. identified him as the man who had raped her. At the hospital, a rape kit was collected, and subsequent analysis revealed the presence of semen on the vaginal swabs and in her underwear. Gordon’s fingerprints were recovered from the VCR. Gordon ultimately admitted to planning the robbery ahead of time, but claimed the rapes were a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Gordon was facing 50 years in prison but entered a negotiated plea to 28 years in prison. Over the years, Gordon has repeatedly attacked his agreed sentence through motions, all of which have failed. In the last few years, Gordon has filed two motions of judicial release in which he portrays himself as the victim of his youthful mistakes and an overly harsh sentence. At no point in either of those motions does he mention remorse for his actions or apologize to S.V. for destroying her life and robbing her of her senses of safety and security.

Gordon deserves to serve every single day of his sentence for his unforgiveable crimes against S.V. He has already been granted more relief than he deserves and to release him even one day before he has completed his sentence would be an insult to S.V. and to all rape victims. The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office urges this Board to deny Gordon any kind of early release.

Public Hearing Comments