Massillon police probe sex crimes involving girls age 14 and under

Among the victims is a 12-year-old girl.

MASSILLON, Ohio (AP) — Fourteen suspects, most of them students, are being investigated in northeast Ohio on allegations of illegal sexual conduct involving three girls 14 and younger, police said.

Offenses listed on police reports include non-forcible rape and assault, and authorities said four Massillon Washington High School athletes and students from various schools in the district are among the 14- to 21-year-old suspects.

There have been no arrests and no juveniles placed in detention as part of the investigation. The chief investigator in the probe, police Detective Bobby Grizzard, is still in the process of interviewing people related to the case, Sgt. John DiLoreto said Tuesday.

Police said most of the incidents being investigated took place at two Massillon homes on the city’s southeast side. Multiple incidents occurred at one of the locations between May 1 and Sept. 29, according to a police report.

DiLoreto said the probe began Sept. 23 when a 12-year-old girl was treated at a hospital after an apparent sexual assault at a location not far from the high school.

“It’s appalling,” DiLoreto said. “We’ve got a lot of young people involved with allegations of sexual misconduct, or at least inappropriate conduct. It’s a bad situation.”

He said rape charges are being considered in part because of the age of the alleged victims.

“I’ve been on the department for 20 years, it’s the first time I’ve been personally made aware of a situation with this kind of activity involved,” DiLoreto said.

Grizzard, was not at his office Tuesday and was unavailable for comment.

Massillon, a blue-collar community about 50 miles south of Cleveland, is known for its football program where the legendary Paul Brown established his coaching credentials. The high school’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium is located near the school, where trophy cases line the main hallway.

Ninth-graders Mike Fitch and Tyler Condon, while waiting for their ride home Tuesday, said the police investigation has been the talk of the school the past two days after reports about it first surfaced in the news media.

“A lot of kids have heard about it, and it makes them scared and frightened and worried,” Condon said. “I don’t think it’s right that someone could do something like that to someone so young.”

The possibility of young teenagers being sexually assaulted is disturbing and not reflective of Massillon or the high school, said Jennifer Daugherty, 36, a Stark County Jobs and Family Services caseworker.

Daugherty came to the school Tuesday to pick up her daughter, a senior. She also has a son at the high school.

“It’s very shocking. It’s unfortunate,” she said. “All of our experiences here have been very positive.”

Principal Mike Babics said there’s nothing he can say about the allegations.

“It’s a police investigation,” Babics said Tuesday. “I’m not going to comment on something I’m not involved with.”