Seman lawyers ask court to exclude child rape case evidence

YOUNGSTOWN

Lawyers for Robert Seman asked a judge to bar prosecutors from using evidence in a rape case against him in his capital murder case.

Lynn Maro, one of two lawyers for Seman, told Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday that prosecutors should be barred from using specific evidence of a rape accusation against Seman, 47, of Green, because it could prejudice a jury against her client.

Also, prosecutors did not alert defense attorneys until late July about some of the evidence from the rape case they intend to use in Seman’s trial in September.

Seman could face the death penalty if convicted of the deaths of Corinne Gump, 10, and her grandparents William and Judith Schmidt, after a fire March 31, 2015, destroyed their Powers Way home on the South Side the day Seman was to go on trial on allegations that he raped Corinne.

He was free on bond at the time but could have faced life in prison if convicted. The case has still not been dismissed.

Read more about the cases in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.