( Court Reports - Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)

ATHENS — The third of three defendants in a mail fraud case that victimized more than 400 residents was sentenced to prison this week, the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office announced.

In December 2022, the Athens County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of mail theft from a county resident. Additional complaints were received over the course of the next year regarding mail theft and the misuse of checks and credit cards as a result, the release said.

Through their investigation, deputies executed a search warrant at a Byers Road residence in Nelsonville, which led to another warrant for a residence at Pearlwood Road in Athens. Deputies seized thousands of pieces of mail belonging to hundreds of victims around Athens and Meigs counties, the release said.

On Feb. 21, an Athens County Grand Jury indicted Jessica Rae O’Rourke, 39, of Nelsonville;

Brionna Mae McDaniel, 25, of Nelsonville; and Joseph Henry O’Rourke, 21, of Albany; on charges of second-degree felony engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; third-degree felony tampering with evidence and fifth-degree felony counts of receiving stolen property and forgery.

Joseph O’Rourke was also indicted on a third-degree felony count of burglary and a first-degree misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property for a separate incident from November 2022.

Jessica O’Rourke entered a plea of guilty to the indicted charges on Sept. 20 and was sentenced to a prison term of four years and 11 months to five years and 11 months.

McDaniel pleaded guilty on Oct. 20 and was sentenced to 10 to 12 1/2 years in prison.

For his part in the mail thefts, Joseph O’Rourke pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 10 to 14 years in prison. He was also sentenced to 24 months in prison after guilty pleas to the burglary and receiving stolen property charges.

Prosecutor Keller J. Blackburn said in the release that members of the Athens County sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices “spent countless hours sorting through thousands of pieces of mail and executing search warrants on residences and phones.

“Without their dedication, many of the victims would not have been aware that they had been victimized,” he said.