Grand jury to hear sexual-assault case

Staff report

Austintown

A Mahoning County grand jury will hear the case against an Austintown man accused of sexually assaulting five young girls.

Delmas Hayes Jr., 46, of Burkey Road, was charged Friday with four counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of rape. He appeared Monday in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown where the case was bound over to a grand jury.

A new arraignment date hasn’t been set. Hayes was released Tuesday on $25,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with the victims who range in age from 8 to 12.

Detective Sgt. Kathy Dina said the mother of two of the girls came to file a report in July after her daughters told her Hayes had put his hand down the fronts of their pants while they were visiting his home about a year ago.

One of the girls said she also saw Hayes touch the buttocks of another girl who was at the home.

The girls were friends with Hayes’ daughter and spending the night with her when the alleged incidents occurred, the report said. The victims’ mother told police the girls didn’t tell her sooner because they were afraid they would get into trouble.

Dina said she discovered a total of five victims, one of whom said she was raped, after interviewing more girls and the investigation is ongoing.

“We believe that all of the incidents happened over the course of the last year at his home,” Dina said.