A Lexington Park man has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for Second-Degree Rape and Third-Degree Sexual Offense. Cameron Ball, 22, was sentenced Tuesday in St. Mary‘s County Circuit Court by Judge Michael Stamm.
Ball entered what is known as an Alford plea to the rape changes, meaning that while not admitting guilt he admitted that the state had enough evidence to prove him guilty. He pled guilty to the Third-Degree Sex Offense change.
Ball was charged with soliciting young girls on Facebook, meeting up with them and having sex with them. The youngest girl was 12 at the time of the alleged offense. Parents of three of the girls testified at the sentencing hearing as to the impact of the crimes of their child.
The courtroom scene was tense, with the families of the victims sitting on one side and the Ball’s family sitting on the other side. Several times testimony elicited verbal responses from one side of the other, particularly when Ball’s father Ron attempted to shift blame for his son’s troubles on the victims.
After the sentencing a deputy followed both families out into the courthouse parking lot to make sure that no problems erupted.
During the hearing Assistant State’s Attorney Julie White noted that Ball was given a suspended sentence in district court on the very same crimes and he went home that same day and “engaged in the same activity again.”
“No matter what the court says he can’t conform his behavior to the confines of the law. That makes him a predator.” She added that Ball doesn’t admit that he did wrong.
The mother of one of the victims, who was 14 at the time of the crime, read a statement that said her daughter has been called “a liar and a slut,” She said her daughter had been hospitalized at Shepherd Pratt Institute, gone through psychotherapy and “she still has blame.” She added, “These girls need to know it is not their fault.”
The mother said, “He is a grown man preying on the emotions of young impressionable girls.” Saying, “Cameron has robbed her of how to feel safe,” the mother asked for the maximum penalty for the crimes.
Another victim’s mother said, “It has affected my daughter a lot. It has affected me a lot.” She said her daughter “doesn’t want to go anywhere and she doesn’t want to associate with other people.” She has avoided counseling. The mother said, “She doesn’t want to deal with it.&rdquo
