MAHONING COUNTY Jury convicts man of raping boy, 12

A life imprisonment sentence is mandatory under Ohio law.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Richard Clark will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A jury in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court deliberated about two hours Thursday before convicting the 52-year-old Sheridan Road man of rape and gross sexual imposition.
Because the jury held that the victim was younger than 13 and because Clark used force, or the threat of force, to get the victim to engage in sexual contact with him, a life sentence is mandatory under Ohio law.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum will sentence Clark at 9 a.m. June 15.
"It's our feeling that this man is a pedophile," said Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Franken. "The best thing we can do for the community is get him off the streets forever."
Defense attorney Ted Macejko Jr., who said he has known Clark since Clark was 14, took the verdict hard.
"I'm greatly disappointed," Macejko said afterward.
What's behind this
Clark was convicted of engaging in sexual conduct with a 12-year-old boy after a birthday party for one of Clark's children at Clark's house in November 2002.
The boy said he was sitting on a couch with Clark, watching a movie after other children had gone to sleep, when Clark performed a sex act on him.
The jury found that Clark is a violent sexual predator.
Clark, sitting in a motorized wheelchair as he had throughout the trial, showed no reaction as the verdicts were announced. After he was handcuffed, deputies pushed his wheelchair out of the courtroom to take him to the county jail, where he'll be held pending sentencing.
Macejko asked that Clark be allowed to remain free on bond until his sentencing, but the judge refused. He said Clark is no longer entitled to a bond since he is now a felon.
bjackson@vindy.com