A Florida judge sentenced a 21-year-old man to 24 years in prison for killing an Ohio mother and her young daughter in a 2018 traffic crash.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Nash heard hours of testimony on Thursday before announcing his decision to send Cameron Herrin to prison.
“It’s impossible to have greater harm than occurred in this case,” the judge said.
David Raubenolt, center, reacts as his brother shares a victim impact statement during Cameron Herrin's sentencing hearing on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at the Hillsborough County Edgecomb Courthouse before 13th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Christopher Nash in downtown Tampa, Fla. Herrin was sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing Raubenolt's wife and young daughter in a 2018 traffic crash. (Douglas R. CliffordTampa Bay Times via AP)
Herrin's family members began to weep as sheriff's deputies placed him in handcuffs after the hearing, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“I feel responsible for this accident,” Herrin's mother, Cheryl Herrin, told the judge on Thursday. “If I could, I would step in front of Cameron, and I would accept the punishment you might render.”
Herrin hit Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt and her 1-year-old daughter Lillia with the Mustang he'd received for his high school graduation two days earlier. They were visiting Tampa from Jeromesville, Ohio.
Pamela Reisinger, mother of Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt, recalls memories of her daughter while giving her victim impact statement at Cameron Herrin's sentencing hearing on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at the Hillsborough County Edgecomb Courthouse before 13th Judicial Circuit Court judge Christopher Nash in downtown Tampa, Fla. Herrin was sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing the Ohio mother and her young daughter in a 2018 traffic crash. (Douglas R. CliffordTampa Bay Times via AP)
He was heading to a gym on the morning of May 23, 2018. Witnesses later told investigators that Herrin and his friend John Barrineau, who was driving a Nissan, appeared to be racing on Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard. Police said Reisinger-Raubenolt, 24, was pushing her daughter in a stroller when Herrin's car hit them.
Barrineau also pleaded guilty and is serving a six-year prison sentence, WFTS reported.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the Mustang topped 100 mph (160 kph) moments before the crash, rapidly decelerating to 30 and 40 mph (48 and 64 kph) at the time of impact.
Cameron Herrin's family from left: father Chris Herrin, mother Cheryl Herrin, brother Tristan Herrin and aunt Kim Salter attend a sentencing hearing for Herrin, right, on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at the Hillsborough County Edgecomb Courthouse before 13th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Christopher Nash in downtown Tampa, Fla. Herrin was sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing an Ohio mother and her young daughter in a 2018 traffic crash. (Douglas R. CliffordTampa Bay Times via AP)
David Raubenolt spoke for nearly an hour, telling the court that his wife loved children and was a parent who passed out notes to airplane passengers, apologizing if their child started to cry. He said he sweats when he enters his daughter's room, where her crib remains untouched.
“It is critical for you to understand that you’ve created everlasting pain and depths of sorrow,” he said.
This story has been edited to correct the spelling of the victim's name: Reisinger-Raubenolt.
PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen returned to court Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.
Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.
Le Pen did not talk at her arrival at the courthouse.
As the trial was starting, she stood up silently in front of the panel of three judges while reasons for the proceedings were being read by the president of the court. The room was packed with a crowd of dozens of reporters and general public.
“I hope I'll be able to convince the judges of my innocence,” Le Pen told reporters Monday. “It’s a new court with new judges. The case will be reset, so to speak.”
The appeals trial is scheduled to last for five weeks, with a verdict expected at a later date.
Le Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year's ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. She denounced it as “a democratic scandal.”
Her National Rally party has been coming out on top in opinion polls, and Le Pen alleged that the judicial system brought out “the nuclear bomb” to prevent her from becoming France’s president.
The appeal trial, involving Le Pen, 10 other defendants and the National Rally party as a legal entity, is scheduled to last for five weeks. A panel of three judges at the appeals court in Paris is expected to announce its verdict at a later date, possibly before summer.
Several scenarios are possible, from acquittal to another conviction that may or may not bar her from running in 2027. She could also face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew — up to 10 years in prison and a 1-million euro ($1.17 million) fine.
In March, Le Pen and other party officials were convicted of using money intended for EU parliamentary assistants who instead had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. Some actually did work for the party, known as the National Front at the time, in French domestic politics, the court said.
In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a “system” set up to siphon off EU parliament funds — including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.
All suspects denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.
The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.
The case and its fallout weigh heavily on Le Pen’s political future after more than a decade spent trying to bring the far right into France’s political mainstream. Since taking over the party from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, she has sought to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, changing its name, expelling her father in 2015 and softening both the party’s platform and her own public image.
That strategy has paid dividends. The National Rally is now the largest single political group in France’s lower house of parliament and has built a broad network of elected officials across the country.
Le Pen stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Jordan Bardella, now 30.
If she is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, Bardella is widely expected to be her successor. His popularity has surged, particularly among younger voters, though some within the party have questioned his leadership.
Le Pen's potential conviction would be “deeply worrying for (France's) democracy,” Bardella said Monday in a New Year address.
European Parliament lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve arrives to an appeal court for far-right leader Marine Le Pen's appeal trial for an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives for her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks during his New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, is framed by Louis Aliot, left, and conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti during National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
