Aide is accused of raping 7 autistic boys

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A man already accused of molesting two disabled boys being tutored in his home has now been charged in the rape of seven autistic boys at a school for special-needs students.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Phillip Distasio, 34, of suburban Rocky River, on Wednesday with 40 counts of rape and other felonies.
He had been charged with 34 counts in an indictment filed Sept. 30 in the attacks on two boys.
All but one of the nine victims were under age 13. A conviction on rape counts involving any of the eight younger boys would mean an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole eligibility, said Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brendan Sheehan.