YOUNGSTOWN Man placed on probation in child sex

YOUNGSTOWN -- Mark Shorthouse, 29, of Salinas Trail, Boardman, was placed on probation for five years Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where he had previously pleaded guilty to attempted unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum ordered him to serve the first six months in the Mahoning County Jail, after which he'll be released into a residential treatment facility for sex offender counseling.
Deena Calabrese, assistant prosecutor, said Shorthouse engaged in consensual sex with a 15-year-old girl in July 2001 at a friend's apartment. The girl had been walking her dog when she met up with Shorthouse and they went inside to have sex.
Shorthouse agreed to be classified as a sex offender, meaning he will have to register his address with the sheriff in the county where he lives for the next 10 years.