Teen sentenced in Canfield rape case

YOUNGSTOWN — A 16-year-old teen convicted of rape in Mahoning County Juvenile Court must register as a Tier II sex offender for the next 20 years after he was sentenced Monday.

Ramir Bledsoe also was sentenced to the Department of Youth Services for three years, but that sentence was suspended and he was given credit for 140 days served in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center awaiting the completion of his case.

Bledsoe was charged in December 2018 with raping a then-15-year-old girl at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

Bledsoe was also placed on electronically monitored house arrest and must complete treatment and counseling programs as part of his sentence.

Bledsoe was free on EMHA earlier this year in the case but he was ordered detained after he was spotted playing basketball for his high-school basketball team without first informing the court. At the time, his attorney said Bledsoe thought he was allowed to play because Bledsoe thought his coaches had worked out the arrangements.