North Jackson ex-minister's rape and gross sexual imposition conviction upheld

YOUNGSTOWN

A three-judge panel of the 7th District Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld a minister’s conviction on rape and gross sexual imposition charges, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

On Wednesday, the appeals court rejected claims by the Rev. Ronald Lee Pyles Jr., 62, who was pastor of Victory Harvest Ministry on Palmyra Road in North Jackson, that he was denied a speedy and fair trial and effective defense counsel and that his conviction was based on insufficient evidence.

In a non-jury trial in January 2013, Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court convicted Pyles of the sex crimes against a 19-year-old mentally-disabled woman, who lived in his church’s homeless shelter, and imposed the prison time on Pyles.

After he leaves prison, Pyles will be on parole for five years and must register quarterly with the sheriff as a sex offender as long as he lives.

Pyles is in the Southeastern Correctional Institution in Lancaster, Ohio.