Man found innocent in rape case

FREMONT – A jury took 15 minutes Thursday to find a Toledo man innocent of raping a 16-year-old girl in December at a Sandusky Township home.

The jurors found Christopher Parks, 28, not guilty of one felony count of rape after a trial in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court.

“That is the fastest turnaround I’ve ever seen,” said Parks’ attorney, Matthew Exton of Fremont. “There was absolutely no evidence he committed a rape.”

Parks testified at trial that the girl was receptive to his advances and said that he backed off when she told him to stop, said Detective Capt. Sean O’Connell of the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office.

Parks maintains the pair did not have sex, O’Connell said. The girl, who also testified during the trial, said Parks raped her.

“She seems devastated,” O’Connell said. “She’s a good kid. I feel bad for her.”

A rape kit was completed, but Sandusky County Prosecutor Tom Stierwalt did not introduce it as evidence at trial, Exton said. The rape kit did not contain any evidence linking Parks to a rape, Exton said.

Stierwalt was not available for comment.

O’Connell did not collect any DNA or hair evidence at the scene, Exton said.

The jurors could have considered finding Parks guilty of the less-severe offenses of attempted rape or gross sexual imposition but chose not to, court administrator Brock Kimmet said.

O’Connell said some of the jurors told him the foreman indicated to them that they should not consider the lesser offenses if they found him guilty of the rape.

“I think there was just confusion,” O’Connell said.

Exton said the jurors would only need to consider the lesser offenses if they were not unanimous in their decision. Kimmet said they were unanimous in their verdict.

mksmith@gannett.com

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Twitter: @kristinasmithNM