YOUNGSTOWN Man guilty of raping two girls

Victims testified during the trial of having to mimic pornographic movies with the defendant.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A city man faces life in prison with no possibility of parole after a jury convicted him of rape Wednesday.
The sentence was to be imposed this morning by Judge Robert Lisotto of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Jose Manuel Rosado, 38, of Lanterman Road, was charged with 20 counts of rape. The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated some seven hours Tuesday and Wednesday before finding him guilty of 19 counts and acquitting him of one.
There was no reaction from Rosado as the verdicts were announced. Defense attorney Douglas B. Taylor said he will appeal.
"I'm very pleased with the jury's verdict. They did the right thing," said Assistant Prosecutor Deena Calabrese.
Victims: Authorities said Rosado had sexual contact with two girls he knew. The victims, who are 16 and 15, were 6 and 7 when the assaults started.
Neither of the girls was in the courtroom for the verdict, but Linda Cappelli of the county's victim witness program said they would be satisfied. She gave both girls credit for their courage in testifying.
They said during the trial that Rosado would make them play "copycat" with him. It involved watching pornographic movies, then imitating with him what was happening in the movie. He also made them play strip poker.
The jury also saw a videotaped confession Rosado made to police shortly after he was arrested.
Defense: Taylor had said in opening statements that Rosado's wife was behind the allegations. He said the woman persuaded the victims to lodge the complaints because she was angry at him for having an extramarital affair.
"As an attorney, all I do is present the facts and let the jury decide based on those facts," Taylor said. "This is what they decided."
bjackson@vindy.com