YOUNGSTOWN Youth pleads guilty in case of sex with 14-year-old girl

The case started in juvenile court, and he was bound over for trial as an adult.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Detroit Avenue teen-ager could go to prison for having sex with a 14-year-old girl 11 months ago.
Terry A. Gray, 18, pleaded guilty Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum set sentencing for Nov. 26 and ordered that a background check be done on Gray in the meantime.
Under Ohio law, Gray could be sentenced to six to 18 months in prison, or could be placed on probation. Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Krueger recommended a one-year prison term, although the decision is up to the judge.
Gray was originally charged as a juvenile because he was 17 when the offense happened in November 2002. The matter was bound over to common pleas court for trial as an adult, and a county grand jury indicted Gray in August on one count of rape, a first-degree felony.
Krueger said the charge was reduced so drastically because of problems locating medical records for the victim, a 14-year-old girl Gray knew. Krueger said the girl has been in and out of several foster homes over the years and has been difficult to locate to prepare for trial.
The victim consented to the reduction in charges, Krueger said.
"All she was seeking was for him to admit that he did this," Krueger said.
Side of defense
Defense attorney Theresa T. Tolson argued that the case was overcharged from the beginning and that there never was enough evidence for authorities to prove rape.
In court documents, Tolson said the victim contended that she and Gray had consensual sex in the past. She said the victim had refused on the date in question because Gray had given her a sexually transmitted disease during their relationship and she no longer wanted to have sexual relations with him.
But Tolson said that statement contradicts other statements made to police in which the girl contended that there had been no prior sexual contact between her and Gray.
She said there were several other discrepancies in the victim's statements as well.
Tolson and Krueger said that in exchange for Gray's plea, prosecutors would not seek to have him labeled a sexual predator.
bjackson@vindy.com