YOUNGSTOWN — Mason L. Schneider, 42, of Beachview Drive in Lake Milton, pleaded guilty Monday to six sex offenses involving six victims and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The offenses occurred in Struthers.

Schneider pleaded guilty to one count of rape, two counts of attempted rape, and single counts of gross sexual imposition, attempted gross sexual imposition and compelling prostitution. The sentence was jointly recommended by the prosecution and defense.

Schneider was secretly indicted on 13 sex charges Sept. 19 and had a pretrial hearing on Thursday. He was scheduled to go to trial Monday morning, but reached a plea agreement instead.

One of the victims spoke at Monday’s plea and sentencing hearing before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Two others attended but did not speak.

The rape conviction was for an offense that took place between 2007 and 2010. Schneider forced the victim to engage in sexual conduct with him by force or threat of force, according to Schneider’s indictment.

One of the attempted gross sexual imposition offenses occurred from 2013 to 2015. An attempted rape conviction involved a 2013 offense. A second attempted rape conviction took place in 2019. A gross sexual imposition conviction was for an offense in 2015 or 2016, and the compelling prostitution offense took place in 2022 or 2023.

Schneider had an address in Struthers in 2015 when he was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence in Struthers Municipal Court.

Caitlyn Andrews, assistant county prosecutor, said Schneider knew the victims in various ways, and the offenses took place in Struthers. Andrews said this case has the largest number of sexual assault victims from one defendant she has prosecuted so far in her career. All of the victims are now adults, but some of the offenses took place when the victims were minors, according to Schneider’s indictment.

Schneider is now a tier 3 sex offender, who will have to register his address with the sheriff’s department where he lives every 90 days for the rest of his life when he leaves prison. He also will be on post release control for five years after he is released from prison. He has been in the Mahoning County jail since Sept. 20.

The other charges in Schneider’s indictment were dismissed in exchange for his guilty pleas.