Result of rape case to be decided by polygraph

Rape charges will be dropped if the defendant passes the test.

YOUNGSTOWN — A Boardman man charged with raping a Youngstown boy while he was between the ages of 14 and 16 will let a lie-detector test decide his fate.

Under an agreement between the prosecution and defense, which was approved by Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, the defendant, Darryl L. Adams, 41, of Glenwood Avenue, will submit to a polygraph to be administered June 21 by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

Adams, who maintains his innocence, was initially charged with three counts of raping the boy in Adams’ residence between 2002 and 2004, each carrying three to 10 years in prison. Dawn Krueger, assistant county prosecutor, alleges Adams used his status as a youth pastor in the boy’s church to take advantage of the teenager. The polygraph agreement was reached as Adams’ jury trial was to begin Monday.

What will happen

If Adams passes the polygraph, Krueger has agreed to drop the charges.

If he fails the polygraph, Adams has agreed to plead guilty to a single rape count, with the prosecution agreeing to recommend a four-year prison term and to stand silent concerning judicial release after six months. The prosecution would then drop the other two rape counts.

If the outcome of the polygraph is inconclusive, another plea agreement could be negotiated, or the case could go to trial.

“A polygraph examination should bring out the truth, and hopefully the charges against Daryl Adams will be dismissed,” said Adams’ lawyer, Dennis A. DiMartino.