Boy pleads innocent to raping 4 children

Boy pleads innocentto raping 4 children
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 13-year-old Campbell boy has pleaded innocent to charges of raping four children.
The Harold Lane boy appeared Thursday before Magistrate Donna McCollum at the Juvenile Justice Center for arraignment. An attorney will be appointed for him, and a preliminary hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
Campbell police say the boy sexually assaulted 6-year-old fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, at his home last weekend while his mother was at the store.
The youth is also accused of sexually assaulting his half sister the weekend before. The girl, who was diagnosed with gonorrhea, originally told Youngstown police it was a family friend who attacked her.
According to reports, the girl later told her father's girlfriend she had lied and it was her brother who attacked her in the basement of their home. She said she did not initially identify her half brother because she was afraid of getting him into trouble, reports said.
The father's girlfriend told police another child who lives at the residence had also been sexually assaulted.
Poland board meeting
POLAND -- Poland Board of Education will have a brief special meeting at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the library at Poland Seminary High School on Dobbins Road.
The board will award contracts for renovations and upgrades to Poland Union Elementary School.
Police chief to speak
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's new police chief, Robert E. Bush Jr., will address the Sheridan Block Watch meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 420 Clearmount Drive.
Diabetes Tour de Cure
AKRON -- The American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure 2002, a 60- , 30- and 15-mile cycling event to raise funds to find a cure for diabetes, will be Sunday.
Start and finish of the ride is at Portage Lakes State Park Beach, 5031 Manchester Road (state Route 93). All cyclists must raise a minimum of $100 in addition to the $25 registration fee to participate. Call (888) 342-2383 for more information.
Innocent verdict
YOUNGSTOWN -- A municipal court jury found Charles Butch innocent of aggravated menacing this week.
Butch, 25, of Coitsville is a Humility of Mary Health Partner police officer at St. Elizabeth Health Center. He had been accused of pointing his gun and threatening a hospital maintenance worker June 23, 2001.
Butch's lawyer, Dennis A. DiMartino, praised the "highly intelligent jury" for its decision.
Judge sets $1,000 bond
STRUTHERS -- A 76-year-old man was told to find another place to stay before he could be released from jail. Philip Frank Seman of Maplewood Avenue was ordered to pay a $1,000 bond by Judge James Lanzo on Friday in Struthers Municipal Court.
Seman was arrested by police Thursday after he threatened his wife with a gun. Police say he held the .22-caliber pistol and told his wife she would not wake up the next morning. After he was taken to jail, police returned and found the gun on a shelf in the garage.
Architects' design OK'd
POLAND -- The architectural review board approved designs from Hanahan & amp; Strollo Architects to renovate North Elementary School.
Board members approved the plans Thursday to give the school a face-lift and to install air conditioning. The renovations are the first upgrade since the building was built in 1957.
Al Lind, board member, said the architectural firm will put the project out for bids, in hopes of having the work done before classes resume in the fall.
To perform on cruise
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Connection will perform on board the Carnival Cruise Line M/S Fascination from Monday through Friday. The cruise will include stops in Key West, Florida and Mexico.
The Youngstown Connection is a 12-member song and dance troupe of city school students that has performed worldwide. This is the group's second performance cruise.
Connection members include Ashley Schmidt, LeShawn Tucker, Kelly Cecil, Matt Alexander, Eddie Cortes, Jason Rosendary, Melissa Rosendary, Brandon Thomas, Daniel Colvin, Michelle Holland, Ebony Hood and Arrianne Ackerman.
Four Square Block Club
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Four Square Block Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the L.A. Simon Social Center at 1507 Hillman St.
The guest speaker will be Police Chief Robert Bush Jr.
The block watch is bounded by Market Street and Woodland, Glenwood and Chalmers avenues.