A local man received a six-month jail term Monday in a case where prosecution alleged the defendant caused the victim's death as a result of giving him the prescription drug fentanyl.


The case involved the summer 2012 death of 32-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Baker from Sabina. Baker's death was attributed to fentanyl intoxication, prosecution has said.


Many of Baker's last hours reportedly were spent with the defendant, Eugene R. Kessler Jr., on a trip to the Dayton area.


Kessler in October pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and gross abuse of a corpse. In addition to the jail sentence, he must pay $10,759 restitution to Baker's estate to cover funeral costs, as well as serve two years under the supervision of the local Probation Department and have no violations of community controls.


Prior to the sentencing, Baker's sister Raelynn Baker gave an impact statement.


After describing the past 18 months as a true nightmare for the family, Raelynn Baker said, "He [Kessler] was coherent enough to drive back from Dayton. He could have done something to save my brother."


As reported previously, Kessler said he bought the prescription medications fentanyl and Xanax after he and Baker decided to go to Dayton on June 3, 2012, and that he and Baker shared a half of a Xanax tablet each and smoked a fentanyl patch.


Baker went to sleep in Kessler's truck and did not wake up or regain consciousness after that, according to a summary of a detective's interview of Kessler. Kessler said he believed Baker was alive when he left Baker's Sabina residence overnight June 3-4.


Kessler's defense attorney, Devon L. Dullaghan, said in court Monday her client was unable to render the aid to save Mr. Baker because he also was drug-impaired at the time and not thinking clearly.


But in issuing the sentence, Clinton County Common Pleas Judge John W. "Tim" Rudduck told Kessler, "You cannot use your own under-the-influence drug issues as a defense here."


During her impact statement, Raelynn Baker said for family members to live the rest of their lives "this way [without the victim] is just a pain that I can't even describe."


She added, "I just want Mr. Kessler to know every day of his life how much he hurt us, and I hope you think of him every minute of every day because we do."


Given an opportunity to speak before sentence was pronounced, Kessler said his heart and feelings go out for the family, adding "Ben was a very good friend of mine."


After the hearing, the deceased's mother, Maggie Baker, said Kessler was involved in her son's death and that the sentence, other than the six months incarceration, "is having to obey the law."


"You know, how is that reasonable? I'm sorry if my words aren't very good but I'm just a little upset," she said.


Raelynn Baker, after the hearing, said, "It's definitely not the outcome we expected when the indictment came down." Kessler was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries a mandated prison term if found guilty.


Six months jail is not worth someone else's lifetime, Raelynn said. "We'll never get Ben back."


Rudduck voiced concern the victim's family was not notified before the plea hearing in October.


Clinton County Chief Felony Prosecutor Brian Shidaker said the plea took place"very, very quickly, so it was something we went forward on." He said prosecution apologizes to the family members for the late notification.


Rudduck said "reckless" is an apt word to describe Kessler's conduct on June 3-4, 2012.


The judge said it was reckless of Kessler to ingest illegal drugs, to drive back from Dayton, to provide drugs to Baker, and "to leave him [the victim] and handle the body the way it was handled."


Kessler's jail term will begin 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3. Rudduck said he might consider early release but makes no guarantee.


If Kessler breaks community controls, he faces three years in prison.