WARREN Sex-offender case returns to court

The assistant prosecutor said she gave the judge certified copies after the trial.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A Trumbull County Common Pleas Court must again decide whether a Niles man is guilty of failing to register as a sexually oriented offender.
The 11th District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the lower court erred when it found that David While was guilty of not registering.
While was convicted in April 2001 of failing to register as a sexually oriented offender and two counts of gross sexual imposition. He was sentenced to 101/2 years in prison.
The appeals court upheld the two charges of gross sexual imposition but said in a 20-page ruling the prosecutor "failed to offer sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction for failure to register."
The appeals court stated that the prosecutor provided photo copies instead of certified copies of documents from a Florida court in which While was previously convicted of sex offenses.
State law requires that certified copies of documents must be presented during trial, not afterward. The documents are used to help determine a defendant's status as a sex offender.
The appeals court sent back to common pleas the one charge of failing to register.
Atty. Sarah Kovoor, who was the assistant prosecutor at the time, said she provided certified copies to the judge after the trial. Kovoor has since left the prosecutor's office and is now in private practice.
The crime
Kovoor said a local jury found While guilty of fondling a 10-year-old Niles girl in her home.
Kovoor said that While committed a sexual act with a child in the past. She said While served 13 years in a Florida prison after being convicted of sexual battery. The victim in that case was an 8-year-old boy.
Kovoor added that While was released from the Florida prison in June 1999. She said he moved to Niles shortly afterward but did not report his whereabouts to the county sheriff's department.
Ohio law mandates that all sex offenders register with the local sheriff once a year for 10 years.
sinkovich@vindy.com