BY JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted a 14-year-old West End boy as an adult in the rape of a 9-year-old girl.
Maurice Stewart is the youngest person ever to be prosecuted as an adult in Hamilton County. He may never see another birthday as a free person, if convicted.
"This 14-year-old is facing some serious jail time," said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters. "The rape of someone under 13, with force, carries a sentence of life in prison."
He was indicted Wednesday on charges of kidnapping, gross sexual imposition and rape. He was transferred to a separate section of the Hamilton County Justice Center under $300,000 bond, said Col. Daniel Wolfangel of the sheriff's office.
The offense allegedly occurred April 26.
The youth is a resident of the Laurel Homes housing complex. He was home that day on a temporary release from the Hillcrest Training School in Springfield Township, a detention facility for juveniles who have committed crimes.
The boy allegedly tricked the 9-year-old into his house on West Liberty Street, telling the girl that his sister wanted to play with her, Mr. Deters said. Once the girl was inside the house, the boy locked the door. Mr. Stewart then blindfolded the girl, tied her hands behind her back and raped her, Mr. Deters said.
He was arrested Saturday by Cincinnati police. Investigators in the personal crimes unit of the Cincinnati Police Division could not be reached concerning the arrest.
He is not the first 14-year-old to be prosecuted as an adult in Hamilton County. But he is the youngest, Mr. Deters said.
Teens sentenced in juvenile court are freed when they reach 21. But under a law that took effect Jan. 1, 1996, Mr. Stewart qualifies for adult prosecution. The law lowered from 15 to 14 the minimum age for prosecuting juveniles as adults. As a result, teens sentenced as adults now can face lengthy prison terms.
"The bottom line with this stuff is usually when you have a 14-year-old committing an offense, it's not of this nature and you attempt to save that 14-year-old," Mr. Deters said.
But the nature of his alleged offense warrants adult time, Mr. Deters said.
"Let's keep in mind we have a 9-year-old girl who has been horribly violated and deserves protection," the prosecutor said.
Mr. Stewart is a candidate for Ohio's sexual predator law, Mr. Deters said. If convicted, labeled a sexual predator by a judge and someday released from prison, he would live the rest of his life under the predator law, which requires that communities be alerted when he moves in.
