Man pleads innocent to charges tied to teens

Citizen complaints prompted the investigation.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LOWELLVILLE -- Police continue to investigate the activities of a 60-year-old village man who was suspended from his state corrections officer job after pleading innocent to two counts of disseminating harmful materials to juveniles.
Charged with the felonies is Joseph John Demarco of 322 Jackson St., who is free on $5,000 bond.
Demarco was arraigned June 19 in Struthers Municipal Court, where his preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 25.
The Ohio State Penitentiary is pursuing an internal investigation to determine if Demarco's activities violated any standards of conduct, said Keith Fletcher, prison public information officer. Demarco, suspended June 21 from his job pending the outcome of the case, was hired at the state prison on Coitsville-Hubbard Road on July 6, 1998.
Lowellville Police Chief William H. Vance said he had been watching Demarco for several months based on citizen complaints about suspected drug activities, because of traffic of juveniles in and out of Demarco's house.
Complaints
Also, Vance said there were complaints from female juveniles. According to police reports, one teenage girl said the suspect answered the door naked and other times in just his underwear, and began to masturbate in her presence. Vance said there is no evidence yet that Demarco had physical contact with any of the juveniles.
One of the juveniles said she saw and smelled marijuana in the house, which Vance said prompted the involvement of the Mahoning County Drug Task Force in the case.
Demarco was arrested at his residence June 15 and held in Mahoning County Jail pending his arraignment. A number of VCR tapes and some drug paraphernalia were confiscated from Demarco's residence at the time of his arrest, Vance said.
alcorn@vindy.com