Newton Falls man guilty of rape

The Newton Falls man has a prior
conviction that could add to his
prison time.

BY MAYSOON ABDELRASUL

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — A man’s obsession with an exotic dancer will cost him time in prison.

After almost three days of deliberations, a jury in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court found Jeffrey Town, 48, of Newton Falls, guilty Tuesday on one count of kidnapping and three counts of rape.

Town, 48, is now in Trumbull County Jail awaiting sentencing Oct. 22 .

He was convicted of kidnapping and felonious assault about 20 years ago, and Judge Peter Kontos can almost double Town’s prison time for the current first-degree felonies, which each carry punishments of three and 10 years, because of that previous conviction.

Town raped a 20-year-old exotic dancer at his Newton Falls apartment Dec. 11, 2006.

The 21-year-old woman testified she arrived at his apartment to make a payment on the car she had purchased from him and help clean his apartment.

His attorney, John B. Juhasz, said Town was trying to help her find a job so she didn’t have to dance anymore, and he tried to give her the car, but she refused.

Town said he gave her money, took her out to dinner, and bought toys and clothes for her daughter.

Town testified, however, that he could not afford to support her and her daughter, plus a man who he thought was her boyfriend that he had seen outside her apartment.

Arguments

David Toepfer, an assistant county prosecutor, said in his closing arguments that Town was clearly obsessed with the woman, and when he saw another man in the picture, he got jealous.

That is when he tied her hands with duct tape and performed sexual acts with her without her consent. Toepfer said.

Town argued that she wanted to have sex that way.

Toepfer said after the woman refused to take anything else from Town, he got upset and wanted more from her.

“He simply took what she was not willing to offer him,” he sad.

Juhasz argued that Town had genuine feelings for the woman and tried to cuddle with her after the sexual relations were completed.

The woman ran out of the apartment claiming rape and went to her friends’ house. Town said he drove to Kent that night because he said he was confused and didn’t know what to do.

Then he returned to his apartment and took $10,000 in cash, because he didn’t want to be tracked down using his credit card, Toepfer said.

Town was taken into custody at a Cleveland suburb five days after the encounter.