Jury convicts man of raping 8-year-old boy

LISBON -- A Carroll County man faces a maximum life prison sentence after a jury in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court convicted him of raping an 8-year-old boy he knew.
The jury deliberated about 75 minutes before finding James Parks, 43, guilty of rape with specifications that took into account that the victim was less than 10 years old and that Parks used force to compel him to submit.
The crime occurred May 5, 2003, in a field off a road in Elkrun Township, assistant county Prosecutor Tim McNicol said today.
Parks faces a six-count rape indictment on charges of assaulting the same boy in Carroll County.
He also is charged with four additional counts of rape in Columbiana County involving a 13-year-old boy he knew, McNicol said.
Sentencing on this week's conviction is set for March 1 before Judge C. Ashley Pike of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court. Should Parks be sentenced to life, he would be eligible for parole in 10 years.