Rape trial begins

YOUNGSTOWN — Jury selection began Monday afternoon and will resume this morning in the trial of a man charged with three counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition. The accuser was a 10-year-old boy.

Nicholas C. Congemi, 27, of Meadowbrook Avenue, faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted on any of the rape counts, and one to five years in prison if he’s convicted on the gross sexual imposition charge, said Dawn Krueger, assistant Mahoning County prosecutor.

Offenses, for which Congemi was indicted in August 2003, are alleged to have occurred in May through August 2002 in Congemi’s residence, Krueger said. The trial is before Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Congemi is represented by Atty. John Shultz.