In re S.G.

2022 Ohio 897
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 18, 2022
Docket21 MA 0061
StatusPublished

This text of 2022 Ohio 897 (In re S.G.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re S.G., 2022 Ohio 897 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

[Cite as In re S.G., 2022-Ohio-897.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT MAHONING COUNTY

IN THE MATTER OF:

S.G., ALLEGED DELINQUENT CHILD.

OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY Case No. 21 MA 0061

Civil Appeal from the Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, of Mahoning County, Ohio Case No. 2020 JA 00595 JUV

BEFORE: David A. D’Apolito, Gene Donofrio, Carol Ann Robb, Judges.

JUDGMENT: Reversed and Remanded.

Atty. Paul J. Gains, Mahoning County Prosecutor, and Atty. Ralph M. Rivera, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, 21 West Boardman Street, 6th Floor, Youngstown, Ohio 44503, for Appellant and Atty. Nicholas S. Cerni, Boardman Canfield Road, Suite M-1, Youngstown, Ohio 44512, for Appellee. –2–

Dated: March 18, 2022

D’Apolito, J.

{¶1} Appellant, State of Ohio, appeals the June 8, 2021 judgment entry of the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, finding that Appellee, S.G. (d.o.b. 8/15/2000), is amenable to rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system and setting the matter for a merits hearing.1 Appellant filed a notice of appeal on June 18, 2021, and we sustained Appellant’s Motion for Leave to Appeal Pursuant to Appellant Rule 5(C) on August 16, 2021. Briefing was complete on November 29, 2021. {¶2} S.G. is charged in the complaint alleging that he is a delinquent child with two counts of rape, in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), felonies of the first degree. R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b) reads, in pertinent part, “No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another who is not the spouse of the offender, * * * when any of the following applies: * * * (b) The other person is less than thirteen years of age, whether or not the offender knows the age of the other person.” {¶3} The alleged victim is S.G.’s first cousin, A.C. (d.o.b. 4/8/2006). According to A.C.’s testimony at the probable cause hearing on March 30, 2021, the charges relate to two occasions in late 2017 and early 20182, when she performed fellatio on S.G., who was seventeen years of age at the time. A.C. was eleven years of age on the first occasion and under the influence of marijuana provided to her by S.G., and twelve years of age on the second occasion. A.C. testified at the probable cause hearing that she performed additional uncharged acts of fellatio on S.G. on several other occasions prior to her disclosure.

1 S.G. was remanded to the Juvenile Justice Center pursuant to the June 8, 2021 judgment entry on appeal. However, S.G. was released from custody roughly two months later, on August 14, 2021, one day prior to his twenty-first birthday. (8/13/21 J.E., p. 1.) 2 The complaint alleges that both crimes occurred on December 31, 2017. However, Appellant moved

without objection to amend the complaint to conform with the evidence offered at the probable cause hearing conducted on March 30, 2021. A.C. testified that the second charged act occurred when she was twelve years of age. As a consequence, the juvenile court amended the second count in the complaint to allege that the charged crime occurred “between December 31, 2017 and April 9, 2018.” (3/30/20 Hrg., p. 44.)

Case No. 21 MA 0061 –3–

{¶4} According to the police report attached to the complaint, A.C. disclosed the alleged abuse to a school counselor eleven months earlier on September 15, 2019. The complaint was filed on August 14, 2020, one day before S.G’s twentieth birthday. {¶5} Officer Kelly Jankowski, an investigator from the Family Investigative Service Unit of the Youngstown Police Department testified at the probable cause hearing that the investigation was assigned to her on September 19, 2019. Officer Jankowski further testified that delayed disclosure of sexual abuse in cases involving children is common, as is a continuing relationship between the victim and the perpetrator prior to and even after disclosure. {¶6} The judgment entry finding that S.G. was amenable to the juvenile justice system and setting the matter for a merits hearing was issued roughly two months prior to S.G’s twenty-first birthday. In this appeal, Appellant argues that the two months between the judgment entry on appeal and S.G.’s twenty-first birthday provided insufficient time to rehabilitate S.G. in the juvenile justice system, which is one of the statutory factors to be considered by the juvenile court before transferring a case to the general division. Appellant further argues that the majority of the remaining factors likewise favor transfer to the general division of the common pleas court, and as a consequence, the juvenile court abused its discretion when it retained jurisdiction. {¶7} For the following reasons, we find that the juvenile court abused its discretion in retaining jurisdiction, insofar as the juvenile court reached a conclusion regarding rehabilitation that is unsupported by the record, as well as ignored many other relevant factors due to its focus on the delay in filing this case. Therefore, the judgment entry of the juvenile court is reversed, and this matter is remanded with instructions to the juvenile court to transfer this matter to the General Division of the Court of Common Pleas.

LAW

{¶8} R.C. 2152.12, captioned, “Transfer of cases from juvenile court,” governs discretionary transfers, and reads, in pertinent part:

(B) Except as provided in division (A) of this section [murder charges], after a complaint has been filed alleging that a child is a delinquent child for committing an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, the

Case No. 21 MA 0061 –4–

juvenile court at a hearing may transfer the case if the court finds all of the following:

(1) The child was fourteen years of age or older at the time of the act charged.

(2) There is probable cause to believe that the child committed the act charged.

(3) The child is not amenable to care or rehabilitation within the juvenile system, and the safety of the community may require that the child be subject to adult sanctions. In making its decision under this division, the court shall consider whether the applicable factors under division (D) of this section indicating that the case should be transferred outweigh the applicable factors under division (E) of this section indicating that the case should not be transferred. The record shall indicate the specific factors that were applicable and that the court weighed.

(C) Before considering a transfer under division (B) of this section, the juvenile court shall order an investigation into the child’s social history, education, family situation, and any other factor bearing on whether the child is amenable to juvenile rehabilitation, including a mental examination of the child by a public or private agency or a person qualified to make the examination * * *.

{¶9} Subsections (D) and (E) of R.C. 2152.12 read, in their entirety:

(D) In considering whether to transfer a child under division (B) of this section, the juvenile court shall consider the following relevant factors, and any other relevant factors, in favor of a transfer under that division:

(1) The victim of the act charged suffered physical or psychological harm, or serious economic harm, as a result of the alleged act.

Case No. 21 MA 0061 –5–

(2) The physical or psychological harm suffered by the victim due to the alleged act of the child was exacerbated because of the physical or psychological vulnerability or the age of the victim.

(3) The child’s relationship with the victim facilitated the act charged.

(4) The child allegedly committed the act charged for hire or as a part of a gang or other organized criminal activity.

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Bluebook (online)
2022 Ohio 897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sg-ohioctapp-2022.