HAMILTON — The 13-year-old boy listened intently Thursday, looking more as if he were in a classroom than a courtroom.

        He showed little emotion, even as he was led away in handcuffs after Butler County Juvenile Court Judge David J. Niehaus found him guilty of delinquency for sexually abusing his half-brother, age 4 at the time.

        The judge also ordered a sexual-offender evaluation of the boy, and set disposition of the case for Oct. 29.

        During the daylong hearing, the young victim graphically told how the older boy sexually assaulted him with a hairbrush, and touched his genitals.

        “It hurt me,” said the victim, now 5.

        The case began unfolding in August when the boys' grandmother caught the younger boy simulating a sex act with his toddler-age cousin.

        “He was nervous,” the grandmother said. “He just kept wringing his hands. You could tell he was scared. (He) told me what happened.”

        Defense attorney Chris Travis argued that the grandmother's questioning of the boy may have led the boy to blame the 13-year-old.

        “I have a question in my mind as to whether the (younger) boy was competent as a witness,” Mr. Travis said. “I'm also concerned how suggestible he seemed to be. I still believe that my client is innocent.”

        “There's no indication that Grandma put this stuff in his head,” Judge Niehaus said. “The young man made some statements under a very difficult situation. This kid was under the gun.”

        The older boy and his 12-year-old brother sometimes watched the family's two younger half-brothers — including the victim — while the parents were out.

        Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Stephens pointed out that the victim knew right from wrong.

        “There is obviously something that had occurred between (the 13-year-old) and him,” Mr. Stephens said. “He knows reality from fantasy. The kid knows what he's talking about.”

        The boys' father told the judge he noticed no abnormal relationship between the two and never saw any inappropriate behavior.

        “Until this situation came up, none of us ever would have thought anything could possibly be happening,” the father said. The Enquirer isn't using the father's name, to avoid identifying the children.

        From the stand, the older boy denied abusing his half-brother.

        “No, sir, I didn't,” he said when asked by his attorney. “I don't know how (the victim) could have said something like that.”

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