NILES Warren man jailed for public sex acts

The defendant told police he can't control himself.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A 49-year-old Warren man will get a review of his case after he spends at least 30 days in the city jail.
Roy E. Shaw, of Oak Street S.W., was sentenced to one year in jail and fined $1,000 Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of sexual imposition and public indecency.
Shaw did not utter a word when municipal Judge Thomas W. Townley pronounced the sentence then suspended six months of the jail time and ordered a review of the case 30 days after Shaw reports to the jail.
Shaw, who is undergoing surgery this week, will begin serving his time May 13, said his Atty. John Large.
After the review, Large said, the judge will determine if Shaw should remain in jail or be released on probation.
"He may be ordered into counseling if he is released then," Large said.
Shaw was accused of asking a 26-year-old Youngstown woman in February to help him in the card section of the Target store in Eastwood Mall. He told her he could not read.
The woman said she spent about 15 minutes with Shaw before she looked down and found him masturbating.
She told police when he finished, he looked at her, said "thank you" and walked away.
Numerous complaints
After details of the arrest were released, several women throughout Mahoning and Trumbull counties called Niles police to report they were also victims of Shaw, Niles police Capt. Guy Simeone said.
"We investigated at least 12 other complaints," he said.
Police also learned Shaw had a history of similar acts, said Officer Jaisan Holland.
"He's faced similar charges in Boardman, Brookfield and other places," Holland said. "He has a pattern."
Dating to 1982, Shaw's been arrested and convicted in Kent, Hubbard, Brookfield and Boardman on charges of public exposure, public indecency and gross sexual imposition.
In most cases, he followed the same pattern, where he has approached women and asked for help reading cards or prescription bottles.
He often draped a coat over his arm to hide his masturbating.
When he was arrested in Niles, Shaw told police he was unable to control himself, blaming a strict religious upbringing and little education about sex.
His attorney said a psychological evaluation diagnosed Shaw as a "frotteur," meaning he satisfies sexual urges by rubbing against other people, usually in a crowd or a public place.
slshaulis@vindy.com