Drop sex charges against ex-teacher from Austintown, prosecutor urges

Another man got six years in prison for having sex with the same girl.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains has asked for dismissal of six counts of sexual battery against a former Austintown Fitch High School teacher, because the alleged victim won't testify.
On Monday, Gains filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Gerald E. Reedy, 57, of Alverne Drive, Poland, who was charged with having sexual contact with a 16-year-old female student during 2005. During that time, she turned 17.
Reedy was scheduled to go on trial Wednesday in the courtroom of Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, who has not ruled on Gains' motion. Reedy retired in March 2006 after 33 years with the school district.
The prosecution has no alternative other than requesting dismissal because of the alleged victim's refusal to testify in the trial, Gains wrote. But, he added that his motion is made "with the understanding that charges may be reinstated should the victim be emotionally prepared to testify at a later date."
Attached to Gains' motion was a Feb. 20 letter he received from the alleged victim, now 18 and living in Indiana, in which she said all her statements made in the case have been truthful. However, she added, "I am not emotionally strong enough to appear and testify."
Although she had earlier expressed a willingness to testify, she wrote that her "family situation has changed dramatically," but did not elaborate. "I am respectfully requesting that this case be dismissed on my behalf. ... I no longer wish to take part in these proceedings," she wrote.
Same teen, another defendant
Last month, Judge Sweeney sentenced Paul J. Snyder, 51, of Jamison Place, Canfield, to six years in prison on four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and fined him 20,000. He pleaded guilty to having sexual relations with the same female.
The victim told authorities Snyder, a real estate salesman, would have sexual encounters with her in various Mahoning Valley houses, which were listed for sale. The judge gave Snyder the maximum prison term and fine the law allows.