Injured girl found on Morse Road by police

A young girl told a judge yesterday that her stepfather treated her and his daughter differently.

"Doug was a nice person,'' Dujeray Gaines, 10, said of Douglas Gore, 27. "He tried to help me in school and he tried to help me outside of school. He whooped me once or twice.''

But Gore and the girls' mother, Mmkimyal, hurt little Ashley, she said.

"Inside of me, I think he just didn't like Ashley. I feel that in my heart,'' Dujeray said.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Nodine Miller sentenced Gore, who is Ashley's father, to seven years in prison for felonious assault and child endangering.

Ashley was 4 years old on Dec. 19, 2000, when police officers found her wearing only a bloody T-shirt and wandering Morse Road about 2:20 a.m.

She had a black eye, a swollen lip, 20 marks from being beaten with a belt, and some of her internal organs were swollen, according to prosecutors. X-rays revealed past injuries, including a fractured pelvis.

Assistant County Prosecutor Christian Domis said Gore showed no remorse. During an interview with a probation officer, "He said she was a difficult child,'' Domis said.

The injuries were life-threatening, he said.

Gore's attorney, Dennis McNamara, said that had the case gone to trial, he thinks Gore would not have been found guilty of felonious assault. "This child was abused, I am certain, by both parents.''

But, in March, Gore pleaded guilty, saying he wanted to end the matter.

McNamara argued that Gore should receive the same four-year sentence that his wife received. Mrs. Gore pleaded guilty last September to child endangering and permitting child abuse.

"The truth is, who inflicted the wounds is to blame; who sat back and watched is just as much to blame,'' said Dora Gaines, Mmkimyal's mother, who now has custody of her grandchildren.

She chastised Mr. Gore in court, saying, "There is no excuse for either one of you to hurt these children.''

Mr. Gore's brother, Thomas Gore, told Miller, "I know my brother's a good person. He's never been in trouble before.

"He's a good father and loves his kids. He wouldn't do anything to hurt them.''

Douglas Gore then said something to McNamara, who turned to Thomas Gore and said, "We apologize to Tom. He used to be right. He used to be a good father.''

kmayhood@dispatch.com

Caption: Tim Revell / Dispatch
Douglas Gore pleaded guilty to felonious assault and child endangering in March and was sentenced yesterday.

You can call Columbus Dispatch newsdesk at 614-461-5000 or write The Columbus Dispatch, 34 South 3rd Street, Columbus, OH 43215.