YOUNGSTOWN — Jonathan D. King, 33, of Darbyshire Drive in Canfield, was indicted this week on kidnapping, gross sexual imposition and public indecency for incidents April 7 in Austintown.
An Austintown police report states that police were dispatched at 10:01 p.m. to a home on Washington Square, where a female reported that a male came into her yard and tried to rape her, then fled on foot between the houses.
When officers arrived, they searched the area but did not locate anyone. Officers spoke to the female, who said she heard a noise about 9:30 p.m. from her kitchen. She did not find anything unusual in the kitchen. However, at 10:50 p.m., she left to go to the store and saw a shadow near her garbage cans.
When she returned from shopping, she placed her purchases in the house, walked back outside, got into her vehicle to leave and started to pull her car door shut when a male reached out and stopped her from closing the door and grabbed her arm. She fought him and tried to “swat” at him, she said. He touched her breasts, and she kicked him and yelled for her landlord.
The man put his hand over her mouth, at which time she bit him and screamed louder, which caused the man to flee between houses, the report states. His genitals were exposed, she said. The woman’s landlord said he ran outside to see what was happening, but the suspect was gone.
The victim later told police that an unfamiliar vehicle was parked nearby, but it was gone after the attack. A police dog tracked a scent but did not locate the suspect. The police department also gathered fingerprints from the victim’s car, the report noted.
EARLIER CASE
King was sentenced to one year in prison March 14, 2023, after pleading guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to one count of felony gross sexual imposition for groping a U.S. mail carrier.
At that time, he also was declared a Tier I sex offender and required to register his address with the sheriff’s office where he lives once per year for 15 years.
Because King had jail credit of 196 days at the time of his sentencing in that case, he was released from prison and started his five years of supervision by parole authorities Oct. 3, 2023, according to prison records. That conviction was because he groped a female mail carrier Sept. 23, 2022, on Youngstown’s West Side, according to Vindicator files.
Kevin Day, Mahoning County assistant prosecutor, told Judge R. Scott Krichbaum March 14, 2023, that the incident happened while the postal worker was getting into her delivery vehicle. King “ran up to her vehicle, grabbed her and began rubbing himself all over her, grabbing her body … and rubbing his genitals on her,” Day said.
King had “no relationship with the victim whatsoever,” Day added.
The two charges filed against King were for the different parts of the victim that King touched, Day said. Nick Cerni, King’s attorney, said the charges were for “sexual contact with the breasts.”
The victim spoke to Krichbaum at the hearing, saying she did not know King and “was just doing my job as a mail lady” when she was attacked. She said, “This has done so much to me mentally.”
King apologized to the victim and said that he was “off my medications” the day of the incident.
In exchange for King’s guilty plea to one count of gross sexual imposition, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a second count.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Also indicted Thursday were:
Stephen A. Rivers, 29, Tod Avenue, Boardman, two counts of child endangering and one of domestic violence.
Rhea M. Maher, 58, Mahoning County jail, theft from a person in a protected class and misuse of credit cards.
Jennifer M. Davis, 39, Scott’s Corner Road, Diamond, theft from a person in a protected class and misuse of credit cards.
Nicholas M. Garritano, 28, Farmington Circle, Canfield, unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Silvester Cox III, 60, East Avondale Avenue, failure to comply with the order of a police officer.
Ronald D. Brady, 41, Mahoning County jail, grand theft and vandalism.
Jabriel L. Reynolds, 19, Redondo Road, being a felon in possession of a firearm and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
Derrick J. Waller, 52, Mahoning County jail, vandalism.
Nicholas E. Phelps, 31, Mahoning County jail, escape.
Tonya N. Payne, 51, Tyrell Street, grand theft.
Misha N. Morris, 43, Middletown, Delaware, two counts of theft and two counts of possessing criminal tools.
David Choma, 45, Newark, Delaware, two counts of theft and two counts of possessing criminal tools.
Jeremy R. Roush, 26, England Drive, East Palestine, aggravated drug possession with a specification of forfeiture of money in a drug case and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Steven W. Watters, 46, Elk Avenue, Lisbon, aggravated drug possession with a specification of forfeiture of money in a drug case; aggravated drug trafficking with a specification of forfeiture of money in a drug case; fentanyl related compound possession with a specification of forfeiture of money in a drug case and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
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