Washington Court House man sentenced on GSI charges; faces 95 counts in new case

Matthew Hazelip, 35, of Washington Court House was sentenced to four and a half years in prison during a hearing Monday, Dec. 1 in Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Court.

The defendant had previously pleaded guilty as charged by a Fayette County Grand Jury to two counts of gross sexual imposition.

The total sentence received was 54 months in the Ohio Department of Corrections. The total maximum sentence that the defendant could have received in this case was 120 months. The Prosecutor’s Office made a recommendation of 84 months total to be served on the two counts. 

In addition to prison, Mr. Hazelip will also be registered as a tier II sex offender upon his release, requiring him to register as a sex offender in his county of residence and work every 180 days for a period of 25 years.

In addition to this sentence, Mr. Hazelip was also arraigned on new charges involving possession of child pornography. In that case, a Fayette County Grand Jury returned an indictment of seven counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, a felony of the second degree; 32 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, felonies of the fourth degree; and 56 counts of illegal use of a minor in a nudity oriented performance, a felony of the fifth degree, for a total of a 95-count indictment. In that case, trial is scheduled for Feb. 18.

An indictment is merely a charge and is not evidence of guilt.