BUCYRUS—Very different narratives emerged between the state and defense counsel as they each began to make their case to a jury seated on Monday.
Joshua Benedict faces more than one hundred charges. He is accused of many crimes including raping and pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor. Because of the age of the minor at the time of the violations, Benedict could spend the rest of his life in prison without ever having an opportunity for parole.
Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler said the victim who was nine years old at the time of the crime will testify. Hoovler told the jury that the victim lived in fear of the defendant, a cousin, and was reluctant to tell her parents about abuse that occurred on three different occasions. During the discovery process, hundreds of downloaded images involving child pornography were discovered including videos and pictures taken of the victim on a laptop. Hoovler warned the jury about the material they would see.
“There are no words in the English language that can describe how horrible the things you will see are,” Hoovler said.
Adam Stone presented a very different scenario and told the jury that the victim had locked herself into a story she could not back out of after she made an accusation against his client in a game of truth and dare. Stone eluded to the fact that the victim’s parents waited eleven days after learning of the abuse to contact the police.
“She (the victim’s mother) told police she didn’t want to come to them till she had her ducks in a row. Josh was a target from the beginning. I don’t think that was intentional.” Stone said.
Stone also noted that the properties were searched by police, items were confiscated and the police never bothered to talk to Benedict or any of the owners of the properties including his parents and sisters.
Stone told the jury the decision about whether Benedict will testify will be made as the trial progresses.
The first witness to testify on behalf of the prosecution was the victim’s mother.
Benedict had been staying in a camper on his parent’s property and sleeping in their house since he moved back to the area from South Carolina.
On the night of the alleged first assault, three siblings were sleeping on the floor in their grandparent’s living room when Benedict woke the victim, made her a burrito, and took her to his room to eat the food. While in the room he showed the then nine-year-old victim portion of a pornographic video and then committed the first assault. He warned the girl not to tell her parents or they would “beat her ass”.
The victim’s mother told the court that she had noticed behavioral changes in the child before she found out what had happened. She testified the child became withdrawn and no longer liked any type of affection. She has medical issues and school problems. She said the child who once loved to be with family and spend the night on the five-acre property no longer wanted to go.
Through tears, the mother shared her confusion because she rarely let her children stay with anyone but family.
It wasn’t until a family camp out in August of 2018 that the parents learned of the abuse.
Siblings and their friends were playing a game of truth or dare when the victim told the girls she had had sexual contact with Benedict. The victim’s older sibling insisted she tell their parents and so the victim told her family.
The mother testified that something inside her died and she felt as though she was on the outside looking in. She said her daughter came out of the tent crying telling the story. She told the court she ended the sleepover and focused on her daughter. The mother told the court the father heard the allegations at the same time.
The mother told the court that at first, her daughter recanted the story. She said mother’s intuition made her press on with the victim.
Eleven days later, the parents made a report to Galion Police. Police then suggested the child be seen by a SANE nurse (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) to document the assault.
The Galion Police Department also contacted Children’s Services of Crawford County to assist.
The victim’s mother told the court she reached out to a child advocate who contacted the Galion Police Department and set up an appointment with Detective Burky.
In further explaining her delay in contacting the police she said she went to Benedict’s mother about the allegation. Benedict’s mother told her she would take care of it. The victim’s mother said Benedict called her anxious and wanting to meet to talk it out. She told Benedict to never call or speak to her or her family again.
Adam Stone asked the Mother why she let a child rapist (in her words) run loose for eleven days without calling the police. The mother admitted that the family and many children spent time on the same property. Stone suggested that she pressured her daughter into a false confession. He noted that the victim originally denied any abuse when questioned by her mother. “ Was she being honest the first time when she told you nothing happened?” Stone asked.
Testimony resumes on Wednesday.