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Patrick Parker appears in Warren County Common Pleas court Monday, May 6, 2013. The Mason man is accused of raping a toddler with a screwdriver. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

Testimony began Monday in Warren County Common Pleas Court in the trial of a Mason man accused of raping a toddler with a screwdriver.

Patrick Parker, 49, is charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies.

Prosecutors say Parker used a screwdriver and his fingers to sexually assault a three-year-old child he was acquainted with and had access to on overnight stays between July 2007 and June 2009.

The alleged crimes were reported about a year later, according to prosecutors.

The girl’s mother testified Monday that she noticed behavioral changes in the girl beginning in 2008 after overnight stays with Parker. In May 2009, she said the girl asked to give her a kiss on the mouth during which she inserted her tongue in her mouth.

When she questioned her daughter, the girl reported Parker had kissed her in that manner, according to the mother’s testimony.

The girl’s mother reported the incident to officials in Kentucky, where she and her daughter lives. The alleged crimes occurred at Parker’s Mason home, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say the girl two years later disclosed to a licensed clinical psychologist that during this time, Parker had digitally penetrated her with his fingers and a device she described as a screwdriver.

The Enquirer generally does not identify victims of sex crimes and is not identifying the mother to protect her daughter’s identity.

In their opening arguments, defense attorneys denied the accusations and say the girl’s story is riddled with inconsistencies and suggest she may have been coached or asked leading questions by interviewers.

Psychological testing performed on Parker in 2009 after the accusations were made revealed no signs of sexual deviancy, the attorneys told the judge.

Parker faces a possible life sentence on the rape charges. The sentences for the gross sexual imposition charges carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison on each count.

The three-day bench trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: child rape, crime, lebanon, patrick parker, rape, screwdriver, toddler, warren county, warren county common pleas

Anthony Bowman Photo/Warren County Jail

When you gotta’ go, you gotta’ go — even if it is in the shoe department at a Meijer store.

That’s the situation Anthony Bowman, 38, of Deerfield Township, told police he found himself in when he wasn’t able to locate the restrooms in the Deerfield Township store.

Law enforcement officials weren’t so understanding — a Warren County grand jury Friday indicted Bowman on charges of public indecency, criminal damaging and possession of heroin.

The incident occurred on Feb. 22, when store loss prevention officials notified the Warren County Sheriff’s Office they observed a man urinating on shoe racks in the store.

When police confronted Bowman, he denied the incident occurring, but later admitted it after told it was captured on store security video, according to the police report.

Police say Bowman damaged seven boxes of shoes valued at around $450.

He faces up to 22 months in jail and a $6,000 fine if convicted of the charges.

Posted in: Crime, Deerfield Twp., News |

Tags: Tags: anthony bowman, crime, criminal damaging, deerfield township, meijer, public indecency, warren county, warren county sheriff's office

Patrick Parker of Mason in court Monday, May 6 to face charges of child rape. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

Opening arguments are expected to begin Monday morning in the trial of a Mason man accused of raping a young child with a screwdriver.

Patrick Parker, 49, is charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies.

Prosecutors say Parker used a screwdriver and his fingers to sexually assault a child he was acquainted with under the age of 10 between July 2007 and June 2009. The alleged crimes were reported about a year later, according to court documents.

• Follow @Mason_Buzz on Twitter for live updates from courtroom

Parker faces a possible life sentence on the rape charges. The sentences for the gross sexual imposition charges carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison on each count.

The three-day bench trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday.

The Enquirer will update this story.

Posted in: Crime |

Tags: Tags: child rape, crime, mason, patrick parker, rape, screwdriver, warren county common pleas

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Enquirer reporters Rachel Richardson and Sheila McLaughlin became surrogate moms for 10 ducklings Friday afternoon after a gold SUV plowed down the mother duck and an 11th duckling crossing Cox Road.

Richardson witnessed the tragedy near the entrance of Voice of America Park, stopped her car in the middle of the dangerous high-speed road and herded the remaining ducklings safely to a grassy area across the road.

“He was doing at least 50 mph. Plowing down ducks has to be crime – if not a legal one, an ethical one,” said Richardson, who works with animal rescue groups for cats and rabbits.

The 11th duckling was found under the mother with what appeared to be a broken neck. The mother duck flew off. Her leg was broken in half and was bent sideways.

McLaughlin and Richardson rounded up the 10 ducklings after raiding their editor Bill Cieslewicz’s office for a box and searching for the mother in a marshy thicket along the side of Cox Road.

The mother duck could not be found.

The surviving ducklings will be turned over to Animal Hospital on Mount Lookout Square, which recommended rescuing the ducklings because their mother could not be found. They will be transferred to a wildlife rehabilitator.

Reporter Rachel Richardson contributed

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: duck crossing, ducklings, ducks, injured, voice of america, voice of america park, west chester

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports:

Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will enjoy one more pleasant spring day today before cooler temps and possibly rain showers move in for the weekend.

It should be partly sunny with a high of 78 degrees by 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

More clouds will roll in tonight, but it should stay dry. The overnight low will fall to 55.

There’s a 20 percent chance for showers after 3 p.m. Saturday. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy and cooler, with a high of 67 degrees.

That chance for rain will increase a bit to 30 percent after 7 p.m.

As thousands converge on downtown Cincinnati Sunday morning for the start of the Flying Pig Marathon, the mercury will be a cool 52.

We could see rain pop up during the race, but the better chance will be Sunday afternoon. If it does rain, accumulation will be minor – at less than a tenth of an inch.

The temperature will reach 63 by noon and top out around 67 at 5 p.m.

Looking ahead to next week, conditions will be dry with daytime highs in the low-to-mid-70s and overnight lows in the low 50s.

Posted in: News, Weather |

Tags: Tags: weather

Daniel and Forrest Theiss wanted to fight for their country.

Daniel dreamed of becoming an airborne medic in the U.S. Army. Forrest enlisted with the U.S. Marines.

Instead, the 18-year-old identical twins are fighting for their lives after being diagnosed with a genetic condition – so rare it doesn’t even have a name – that causes blood vessels in their body to rip and shred.

Daniel and Forrest Theiss. Provided

In the past year and a half, the once healthy and active Mason teens have each undergone multiple surgeries to repair aortas shredded like wet tissue paper. Complications during a surgery in January – Daniel’s third major operation – left him a paraplegic.

For the brothers and their parents, Matt and stepmom Kathy, the journey has been both heartbreaking and harrowing, but also inspiring – a lesson about finding joy in adversity and of the transformational power of family and community.

At first glance, it’s hard to tell Daniel and Forrest apart.

Sharing a 98 percent genetic match, both have the same tall, lanky build, aquiline nose and doleful brown eyes. Even their voices – and their infectious sense of humor – are nearly indistinguishable

The differences, they will tell you, are in the details.

Daniel, the older brother by five minutes, is practical and patient. Forrest, the entertainer, embraces the limelight, while Daniel, the quiet artist, prefers to remain behind-the-scenes.

When Matt’s job as a business analyst moved the family from Long Island, N.Y., to Mason the summer before their senior year in 2011, the boys quickly found their groove at Mason High School.

Daniel joined the cross country team. Forrest tried out for the school musical. Despite a bout of pneumonia that fall that sidelined Daniel, there was little sign of what was to come.

(more…)

Posted in: Community, News |

Tags: Tags: acta2, aortic dissection, cleveland clinic, coddington reserve, daniel theiss, forrest theiss, fundraiser, genetic mutation, genetics, health, mason, mason high school, surgery

Dave Anderson, a 2012 Sam Adams Longshot contest winner, at a brunch in Denver, Colo. Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. (Jack Dempsey for Sam Adams)

Talk about a long shot.

Dave Anderson had only brewed one batch of beer in his life. But that didn’t stop the ambitious Mason man from entering — and winning — the Samuel Adams’ annual Longshot American Homebrew contest.

Anderson’s Strawberry Lager brew hit shelves nationwide in late April as part of a special Samuel Adams’ six-pack that includes two other winning brews. What’s more, the bottles’ label features an artist’s rendering of Anderson’s mug.

“I’m still shocked. I can’t believe it,” said Anderson. “I consider myself a rookie. I didn’t expect it to go this far at all.”

Each year the Boston-based brewery selects beers made by two homebrewers and one employee homebrewer. Anderson’s entry beat out more than 300 other submissions in the contest’s employee category.

His beer will be packaged along with two other winning brews, Magnificent Seven, an imperial India pale ale by Zack Adams of Connecticut, and Beerflower Wheat, a brew made with hibiscus by James Schirmer of California.

Anderson says he had no experience brewing beer until he began working at Samuel Adams’ downtown-packaging operations plant five years ago. Although Samuel Adams encourages employees to enter the contest, Anderson is the first person from the 120-employee plant to win, he said.

“My coworkers asked me if I had any left,” he said with a laugh.

Anderson brewed up his first batch two years ago in his home kitchen, a chocolate bock.

“It didn’t come out very chocolatey at all,” he said. “It was a good beer, it just didn’t taste the way I wanted it.”

In his second batch, Anderson used three pounds of strawberries in his five gallon concoction.

Photo provided

The entire process took more than a month during which the carboy (a fermentation container) took up half of the refrigerator. Anderson says wife Sarah wasn’t a big fan of his new hobby — at first.

“She hated it. She wanted to throw it out,” he said with a laugh. “After I started winning different rounds in the competition, she was okay with it.”

Anderson said he was shocked by his second attempt. The light and fresh wheat beer has a strong strawberry aroma, but not too overpowering berry flavor, he said.

A panel of industry judges and Samuel Adams’ founder Jim Koch selected three finalists in each contest division for a final showdown at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colo. last fall, where crowds crowned the craft champion.

Anderson says he and his wife received a “once in a lifetime” trip to Oktoberfest in Germany as his prize.

Entries for this year’s contest are accepted May 10-24 at www.samueladams.com/longshot. Anderson hopes to retain his title with a new brew, a Belgian chocolate quad with bananas.

His advice to aspiring homebrewers? “Try to make whatever you think will taste good and make it. You’ll be surprised,” he said.

You can find the 2013 Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest six-pack at local stores, including Party Source in Bellevue.

Posted in: Business, Community, News |

Tags: Tags: beer, dave anderson, great american beer festival, jim koch, longshot american homebrew contest, sam adams, samuel adams, strawberry lager

Steve Bruce / Provided

Steve Bruce has been named chief executive officer of Hyperquake, a downtown-based advertising agency.

Bruce, of Mason, founded Hyperquake’s predecessor, Bruce Design, in 1986 and served as its president and CEO for 18 years.

He oversaw the companies merger with Hyperquake in 2004.  The agency has since become a well-known brand design agency that specializes in narrow branding, reaching a targeted group of consumers, and in helping companies create brands to fit their customer audience.

The company boasts such national clients as GE Healthcare, Welch’s, Warner Brothers Pictures, Food Network, HGTV and Procter & Gamble.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: Advertising, ceo, chief executive officer, cincinnati, hyperquake, mason, steve bruce

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports:

Be sure to get out and enjoy another sunny, summer-like day.

Lunchtime temperatures will be in the low 70s, and the mercury should hit 82 degrees around 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Normally this time of year, the high only gets to about 68 degrees.

It’s mostly clear so far this morning across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The temperature is 52 degrees at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Patchy fog could develop by 9 a.m., but it won’t anywhere as thick as the haze that covered downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday morning.

Temperatures will remain warmer-than-normal for this time of year and in the 70s through Friday with plenty of sun before a cold front arrives this weekend.

Posted in: News, Weather |

Tags: Tags: fog, sunny, weather

Carl Weiser reports:

State Rep. Ron Maag, a Lebanon Republican, plans to introduce right-to-work legislation soon – but only for public sector workers.

In a request to fellow House members asking for co-sponsors, Maag wrote: ”Right to Work, also known as “Workplace Freedom,” would eliminate compulsory unionism in Ohio. This means simply that employees would be free to choose whether or not to join a labor union.”

Ohio would be the 25th state to pass right-to-work laws, he said.

• Read Maag’s letter

State Democratic chairman Chris Redfern has already pounced, saying “Here we go again,” a reference to the bitter 2011 battle over Senate Bill 5, which would have reined in the powers and rights of public sector unions.

“Just as SB 5 was soundly rejected by Ohio voters, we expect this unnecessary sideshow – which will do nothing to create more good-paying jobs – to fail, and we intend to hold Governor Kasich accountable for choosing to focus on distractions over Ohio’s middle class,” he said in a statement.

Posted in: Government, News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: democrats, kasich, lebanon, ohio, politics, representative, republicans, right to work, ron maag, sb5, senate bill 5, union, warren county