43
Bond hearing set for man charged in child rapes
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
YOUNGSTOWN
A bond hearing will be at 11 a.m. next Wednesday for a man whose conviction by a jury for raping two young boys was overturned by the 7th District Court of Appeals, which ordered two new trials.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum ordered the hearing for Michael Kaufman after Kaufman’s lawyer, John B. Juhasz, asked the judge to reinstate Kaufman’s previous $150,000 bond; and Dawn Cantalamessa, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, called for a $500,000 bond during a Tuesday status hearing.
“He is not a flight risk, and there is no threat” to the safety of the alleged victims, Juhasz said.
“We have no reason to believe he wouldn’t be convicted again,” Cantalamessa said.
“Setting a bond too high is a denial of bail. Setting a bond in an amount of ransom is unconstitutional,” said Judge Krichbaum of the common pleas court.
The judge ordered Kaufman, 42, of Berkshire Drive, held without bond pending next week’s hearing.
Cantalamessa said the prosecution will appeal the 7th District Court of Appeals ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.
By a 2-1 margin, a three-judge panel of the 7th District Court ordered two new and separate trials for Kaufman, who drew five consecutive life prison terms plus 20 years from Judge Krichbaum.
Saying joining the cases was prejudicial to Kaufman, the appeals court ordered that the alleged offenses against each boy be tried separately.
Police said the crimes occurred in Mahoning County between 1995 and 2003, and the victims were male relatives of Kaufman’s between age 8 and 11.
If any plea agreement is to be reached, it must be within the next 30 days, the judge said, noting that Kaufman rejected the prosecution’s earlier pretrial offer to recommend a six-year prison term in exchange for Kaufman’s guilty plea to two rape counts.
Judge Krichbaum said he would wait for an Ohio Supreme Court decision on this case before conducting any new trials.