MCDONALD CASE Charges against 6 considered

The Girard gril said the group poured water and dish soap on her face.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A judge will take until at least next week to decide if charges against six people, accused of holding a 14-year-old Girard girl against her will and binding her with plastic wrap, will be bound over to the grand jury or dismissed.
All six are facing one charge each of kidnapping, felonious assault and child endangerment.
Judge Thomas W. Townley heard testimony for more than two hours Wednesday in the cases against Charles L. Frohman Jr., 19, John C. Sigley, 18, and Tiffany J. Wilson, 18, all of Parkview Avenue, McDonald; Douglas W. Rakich, 43, of South Lorain Avenue, Girard; Ami L. Maldonado, 18, of Andrews Street, Campbell; and Julie L. Gifford, 18, of Youll Street, Niles.
McDonald police say the girl was at the Parkview Avenue home with the defendants the night of Oct. 12 when a fight broke out between the 14-year-old and one of the other women.
The 14-year-old told the court the group was sitting around that evening, talking and listening to music, before they started drinking vodka.
What she said
She said she was accused by Wilson of spitting on the floor, and was sitting on the floor when Wilson walked up and hit her.
"Then things got kinda crazy," the girl told the court.
She testified a few others from the group hit her in the face and head, and Sigley bit her on the arm hard enough to leave a bruise.
At that time, she said, Sigley and Rakich held her against her will while Frohman grabbed a package of plastic wrap and began covering her from her neck down to her feet. The group then laid her down on the floor, she said, and poured water and dish soap on her face.
"I asked them to stop, because I couldn't breathe," she said.
It took her about 15 or 20 minutes to chew through the plastic wrap, she said, adding that she asked to use the phone but was denied. She also testified that she went into a bedroom and fell asleep in a chair, and that she "didn't think about walking home."
When questioned by attorneys, the teenager also repeatedly denied consuming alcohol or other drugs before her arrival at the Parkview Avenue home. None of the defendants took the stand. Judge Townley did not indicate when he would issue a ruling.
slshaulis@vindy.com