Youngstown man gets 10 years in 5-year-old rape case

YOUNGSTOWN

A 49-year-old Canfield Road man who maintains he’s innocent has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on a rape charge.

The sentencing ended a 5-year-old case in which the victim had asked an appeals court to order the judge to bring the defendant to trial.

Judge Maureen A. Sweeney imposed the maximum sentence Thursday on Maurice Clark, after a jury convicted him last month on one rape count but acquitted him of another rape count and of a kidnapping count.

Court records show most of the postponements in the case came at the request of the defense, and one came after Clark failed to appear for a Jan. 3, 2013, trial date. He was re-arrested after being placed on the U.S. Marshals’ most-wanted list.

Before the league filed its complaint with the appeals court, the trial had been postponed 21 times.

The crime occurred Sept. 14, 2009, at Clark’s residence.

Read more about the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.