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Jury splits verdict in 2010 rape case
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A Canfield Road man was found guilty of a rape committed in September 2009.
Mahoning County Common Pleas Court jurors on Friday afternoon found Maurice Clark, 49, guilty of one count of rape but not guilty of a second count of rape and a count of kidnapping. A sentencing date before Judge Maureen Sweeney has not been set.
Jurors heard closing arguments Friday morning and then deliberated most of the day after receiving instructions from Judge Sweeney.
A legal advocacy group in February asked the 7th District Court of Appeals to intervene and force Judge Sweeney to try the case because of the amount of time it took for the case to go to court.
The appeals court had not ruled on the request.
The victim, LaTreese Miller, who agreed to allow her name to be used, said she was disappointed that Clark was found innocent of the other two counts but she was happy he will be going to prison for at least some time. The maximum sentence he faces is 10 years.
“I feel victory, but not complete,” Miller said. “But he was convicted of rape, and that’s what he did to me.”
Miller said she never thought the case would take so long to go to court.
“I don’t know why it took so long,” Miller said.
Court records show most of the continuances in the case came at the request of the defense, and one came after Clark missed a January 2013 trial date, causing his bond to be revoked.
Defense attorney Tom Zena would not comment after the verdict was read.
Miller said she still is nervous and her life has changed since she was attacked, but added she is satisfied because she wants people to know what really happened.
“I just wanted people to know I was telling the truth,” Miller said. “It changed around my life. My main thing from day one was to see him convicted.”
The crime occurred Sept. 14, 2009, at Clark’s residence. A Mahoning County grand jury indicted Clark on April 8, 2010.