$1M bond set for man charged with kidnapping, rape of girl

YOUNGSTOWN — Based on a 7-year-old South Side girl’s graphic descriptions of being raped, police arrested Shawn M. Thomas, 25.

Thomas of Buckeye Circle was arraigned today in municipal court on one count of kidnapping and two counts of rape.

Judge Robert P. Milich set bond at $1 million and a preliminary hearing for April 28.

The girl and her parents were interviewed by Patrolwoman Kelly Lamb at Akron Children’s Hospital, where the child was taken after a rape examination at St. Elizabeth Health Center. The officer’s report shows these sequence of events:

The girl went to sit on her porch between 8 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday and was discovered missing a few minutes later by her mother and a search got under way. A family friend who came across the girl roughly 45 minutes later in a church parking lot brought her home.

The girl said she had gone to a friend’s house a block away on Weston Avenue to play when a man named Shawn approached, handed her $1 and told her to go into the garage, saying he’d give her $10 the next day when he got paid. He pulled down her skirt and underwear and pulled down his pants.

Thomas then told the child they were going for a walk and held her hand as he guided her to some woods, what he called his “safe spot,” near a park. She described how they crossed baseball fields, and police believe they walked to the nearby park at Buckeye Circle and Loveland Avenue, near Thomas’ house.

The girl said that, once in the woods, Thomas again pulled her clothes down, removed his own clothes and raped her. He then took her to the church parking lot where she was found.

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.