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Seman indicted for bribery in his rape trial
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
The man who was to stand trial on rape charges — only to have the 10-year-old accuser and her grandparents die in a fire just hours before jury selection was to begin — was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on two counts of bribery.
The bribery charges against Robert A. Seman, 46, of West Calla Road in Green Township, are both third-degree felonies. The maximum sentence on each count is 18 months.
Seman was to go on trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on March 30 on charges of raping Corinne Gump, 10, and faced life in prison if convicted. Corinne and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt, were all killed in a March 30 fire at the Schmidts’ 3631 Powers Way home just hours before jury selection was to begin in the case.
Seman was free on bond and on electronically monitored house arrest before his trial was to begin. His bond was revoked by Judge Maureen Sweeney on the day of his trial after prosecutors told the judge a woman had claimed that Seman had offered her $10,000 if she would tell prosecutors that the girl had lied.
According to the indictment, Seman is accused of trying to bribe his ex-wife, Christine Seman, on March 17 and March 26, and the indictment says that she was to be a witness at the trial, which will take place at a later date.
Seman has since been held in the county jail on no bond. A bond hearing will take place at a later date.
A cause still has not been found for the fire. Investigators served three search warrants last week involving Seman’s home, a vehicle and property that he had at the county jail. Police Capt. Brad Blackburn, chief of detectives, and Capt. Alvin Ware of the fire department’s Fire Investigation Unit both said Thursday it would be a while before a cause of the fire is determined.
Besides the search warrants, investigators also collected several pieces of evidence at the fire scene and have sent them to the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation to be analyzed. They are awaiting the results of those tests.