Boy, 13, competent for rape trial

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A 13-year-old boy charged with raping a 5-year-old girl at a McDonald’s play area in southwest Ohio has been ruled competent to stand trial.

A Hamilton County Juvenile Court official says a magistrate made the ruling Wednesday in Cincinnati after a mental evaluation of the boy determined he was competent.

Court officials say the boy has denied raping the child.

He is being held at the county’s juvenile detention center. A pre-trial hearing has been set for Jan. 4.

Sheriff’s officials say the purported assault occurred Oct. 29 at a McDonald’s in the Cincinnati suburb of Anderson Township.

They said the girl’s grandmother was nearby in the restaurant at the time.

The boy’s parents brought him to authorities after a security camera photo of the suspect was released.