MasonBuzz.com

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Darren Courtney’s scam was elaborate.

The former legal officer for Fujitec opened up accounts with local banks in the names of phony law firms to swindle more than $150,000 over three years from his Mason-based employer.

Former Fujitec legal officer Darren Courtney of Mason was sentenced to 90 days in the Warren County Jail for embezzling more than $150,000 from his employer.

After getting a plea deal with prosecutors, he tried to strike another deal with the judge.

Courtney asked if he could get out of jail in 30 days if he paid Fujitec the $5,000 the judge ordered by then. He said he didn’t think he could stand being away from his three sons for 90 days.

Judge Donald Oda II gave a firm “No” in return.

“That’s part of your accepting responsibility, paying the price and that includes you being away from your children,” Oda said. “It’s an unfortunate fact for your children because they didn’t do anything. But for you, that’s part of this. You are going to do the 90 days in jail.”

Oda had allowed Courtney to leave the Warren County Jail for work on the 90-day sentence. He also sentenced him to electronically monitored house arrest for six months after Courtney is released.

Oda threatened to send Courtney to prison for 36 months if he doesn’t start paying the $5,000 to Fujitec. That amount represented the company’s insurance deductible on their claim to get the money that Courtney stole.

He will be on probation for three years after his sentence is completed.

Courtney pleaded guilty to one felony charge of aggravated theft in March. In exchange, felony charges of aggravated theft, telecommunications fraud and tampering with records were dismissed.

Authorities said Courtney created fake claims from around the country and would then have Fujitec issue checks to the phoney law firms who were supposedly representing the claimants in efforts to settle those claims.

Courtney lost his job at Fujitec after the thefts, from 2010 through February 2013, were discovered.

His attorney, Jim Hardin, said Courtney has since started his own construction, carpentry and contracting company and also works for Office Depot. He’s also trying to obtain a Realtor license so he can work as a property manager, Hardin said.

Courtney will lose his law license because of the felony conviction. His case must be reviewed by the Ohio Supreme Court’s disciplinary system before that happens.

Oda hammered that point home before Courtney was taken to jail.

He noted that Courtney had not only violated violated a position of trust at Fujitec, he did the same to his fellow legal professionals.

“It goes without saying. You are not to be practicing law any more at all,” Oda said.

Reporter Rachel Richardson contributed

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: crime, darren courtney, embezzle, fujitec, judge donald oda, theft, warren county common pleas, warren county jail

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

A Warren County judge Wednesday acquitted a Mason man accused of raping a toddler with a screwdriver.

Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge Donald Oda found Patrick Parker, 49, not guilty on two counts of first-degree felony counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies.

The rape charges carried a possible penalty of up to life in prison.

Parker was accused of using a screwdriver and his fingers to sexually assault the three-year-old child with whom he was acquainted during overnight stays at his Mason residence between July 2007 and June 2009.

The investigation began in 2009 when, at age three, the girl told her mother Parker inserted his tongue in her mouth when he kissed her.  Two years later, she told a licensed clinical psychologist Parker had penetrated her with his fingers and a device she described as a screwdriver.

Defense attorneys argued the girl’s story was riddled with inconsistencies and put experts on the stand to testify she may have been vulnerable to suggestible memories.

“All it takes is a kid hearing something on TV and she makes some sort of statement and boom, the whole ball is in motion,” said Parker’s attorney, Bradley Kraemer. “It’s a very scary situation that a case can get that far basically solely on the word of a child.”

Parker, a traveling salesman, cried as the verdict was read and hugged family members and supporters in the audience. Kraemer said that he and his client were pleased by the three-day bench trial’s outcome.

A clinical assessment performed in 2009 on Parker revealed no signs of sexual deviancy and he passed a polygraph examination, noted Kraemer. Numerous doctor’s visits during this time also revealed no signs of sexual trauma and no sexual assault forensic examination was ever performed, he added.

“There was certainly not enough evidence to warrant a conviction,” said Kraemer. “I feel like the judge made the right decision.”

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said while the case’s lack of physical evidence made it difficult to prosecute, he doesn’t regret bringing it to trial.

“We did the best we could with what we had,” said Fornshell. ” We didn’t have DNA or a medical examination. What it came down to is a situation of a child’s word over that of an adult.”

“While we disagree with the judge and are disappointed with the outcome, I understand how difficult it is to prove these cases beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “If presented with this type of case in the future with the evidence we had, I would do the exact same thing.”

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: acquitted, child rape, mason, not guilty, patrick parker, rape, screwdriver, toddler, warren county common pleas

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

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.

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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

Two West Chester women were arraigned Friday in Warren County Common Pleas Court on charges related to check forgery and theft.

Marcie A. Denney, 37, faces one count of theft, a fourth-degree felony, and nine fifth-degree counts of forgery.

Christine Inman, 30, is charged with one count of receiving stolen property and one count of forgery, both fifth-degree felonies.

Police say that between August and November last year, Denney forged 25 company checks from her employer, JKrete, a Mason company specializing in traditional and decorative concrete installation, totaling more than $23,000.

Denney is accused of both cashing company checks and writing checks out to Inman.

Both women were released on their own recognizance.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: arraigned, checks, christine inman, forgery, jkrete, marcie denney, theft, warren county common pleas

Stuart Vance, 39, was sentenced to eight years in prison on robbery charges in Warren County on Monday, April 2. He was nicknamed the "rush hour robber" by police for his tendency to rob banks during busy times, usually at the end of the workday. Photo/Warren County Jail

A Warren County judge sentenced the man dubbed by authorities as the “rush-hour robber” to eight years in prison Monday.

Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson sentenced Stuart Vance, 39, on two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of receiving stolen property and one count of attempted burglary for crimes committed four years ago in Warren County.

Vance was accused of robbing the People’s Community Bank at 8350 Arbor Square, Deerfield Township, on Sept. 12, 2008.

He also faced charges in the Oct. 7, 2008, robbery of a bank less than a half-mile away, the now-closed Mason branch of National City Bank on Mason-Montgomery Road.

Later that year, Vance attempted to enter a Mason home while a resident was inside.  When he was arrested in November 2008, police found blank checks and credit cards reported as missing from homes in Clearcreek Township in his possession.

The Clarksville man, already convicted of an Indiana burglary, pleaded guilty to the charges last month.  He was also ordered to make restitution to the banks.

Bronson ordered the sentence to run consecutive to the time Vance is currently serving in an Indiana prison for burglary.  Indiana prison records show that he was sentenced in 2009 to 12 years in prison for burglary, theft and receiving stolen property.

Vance was convicted of those charges in Shelby County, Ind., and is expected to complete his prison sentence in November 2014.

The “rush-hour robber” got his name because he had a tendency to rob banks during busy times, usually at the end of the workday. In most of the robberies, the suspect wore a dark business suit, dress shirt and tie.

Vance faces additional bank robbery charges in Hamilton and Montgomery counties and is a suspect in robberies in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s office.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: bank robbery, clarksville, crime, deerfield township, judge neal bronson, mason, national city bank, people's community bank, robbery, rush-hour robber, stuart vance, warren county, warren county common pleas

A new trial date has been set for a Mason man accused of sexually assaulting and raping his girlfriend’s 9-year-old daughter.

Jorge Velasquez, 33, will stand trial for a second time April 19-20 in Warren County Common Pleas Court.  His first trial in February ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Velasquez is charged with one count of rape of a child.  In his first trial, prosecutors added a lesser charge of gross sexual imposition.  He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Prosecutors say Velasquez, the longtime boyfriend of the girl’s mother, digitally penetrated the girl’s vagina.  The alleged incident happened in Mason between August 2006 and December 2006, according to prosecutors.

Velasquez took the stand in his own defense during the first trial.  Both he and the girl’s mother testified that the girl, now 14, fabricated the accusations to retaliate against Velasquez for preventing her from seeing an adult boyfriend.

The rape charge, a first-degree felony, carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Velasquez has been held at the Warren County Jail on a $500,000 bond since his Nov. 29 arrest.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: child rape, crime, gross sexual imposition, jorge velasquez, judge james flannery, mason, mistrial, rape, retrial, second trial, theresa hiet, warren county common pleas, warren county jail, warren county prosecutor

Janice Morse reports

A state board on Thursday formally accused a Warren County candidate of making “deceptive and misleading” campaign statements in violation of Ohio’s conduct rules for judicial candidates.

Carolyn Duvelius, chief magistrate for the county’s juvenile and probate court, will face a hearing on the accusations – but that can’t be accomplished until sometime after next Tuesday’s primary election, a state official said Thursday.

Duvelius and Donald E. Oda II, Warren County Court judge, are on the ballot as Republicans seeking a seat on the county’s Common Pleas bench.

A hearing panel will be named by Tuesday and a hearing for Duvelius then must be scheduled within five days of that appointment, said Richard A. Dove, secretary for the Supreme Court’s disciplinary arm, the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline.

If the panel finds that Duvelius did commit violations as alleged, the next step in the process would be recommendations for discipline, Dove said. Any discipline would then have to be approved by the Ohio Supreme Court; possible penalties range from a reprimand to disbarment from the practice of law, he said.

The board’s complaint against Duvelius comes after Oda filed a grievance accusing Duvelius of various false statements. Duvelius filed a lengthy response denying the allegations and offering justifications for her statements. A panel reviewed both sets of documents and found “probable cause” to support the allegations against her, Dove said, leading to the board’s decision to issue a complaint against Duvelius.

Oda said Duvelius exaggerated her qualifications and cast aspersions on him by claiming that he made a career out of “representing criminals and rapists” although he was fulfilling his duties as a general-practice lawyer, documents say.

A website and a Facebook page show Duvelius “in a robe but does not readily identify the court on which she serves or that she is a magistrate,” rather than a judge, the board’s complaint against Duvelius said. Duvelius asserts that captions and other information do accurately describe her position as a magistrate.

Also at issue: a “robocall,” or automated telephone campaign call, describing Duvelius as “the only candidate with full-time judicial experience,” a statement the board alleges is false.

The board’s two-count complaint against Duvelius enumerates eight different statements alleged to be false or misleading, plus the allegedly misleading photographs.

The board says the alleged misrepresentations violate three specific rules in the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, which forbid a judicial candidate from:

» Putting out campaign information with reckless disregard as to its truth – or knowingly distributing false or misleading information about himself, herself or an opponent.
» Using a title of an office not currently held by the candidate “in a manner that implies that the judicial candidate does currently hold that office.”
» Misrepresenting the “identity, qualifications, present position or other fact” about himself, herself or an opponent.

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: carolyn duvelius, Donald E. Oda II, warren county common pleas, warren county common pleas court, Warren County Court judge, Warren County news

A  judge declared a mistrial Friday after a Warren County jury reported being hopelessly deadlocked on whether a Mason man sexually assaulted and raped his girlfriend’s 9-year-old daughter.

Jorge Velasquez, 33, had been charged with one count of rape of a child and a lesser charge of gross sexual imposition.  He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

• Twitter: Recap of Velasquez’s trial

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for just over five hours Friday before reporting to Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge James L. Flannery that they could not reach a verdict.

The jury split 6-4 in favor of acquittal with two jurors undecided, according to defense attorney Justin Bartlett, who spoke with jurors after the proceedings.

Prosecutors will retry the case, said Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Theresa Hiett.

Velasquez took the stand Friday in his own defense to counter allegations made by the now 14-year-old girl, who says he fondled and digitally penetrated her when she was 9.

The girl testified Thursday that she regarded Velasquez as a father figure.  Velasquez and the girl’s mother have two other children together.

The alleged abuse began when her mother began working the night shift in late summer of 2006, leaving her and a toddler brother home alone with Velasquez, the girl said.

The abuse stopped several months later when her mother stopped working the night shift, she said.

“He told me not to tell my mom or else,” she told jurors.  “I was scared because I thought if I told someone he would hurt me or anyone in my family.”

Both Velasquez and the girl’s mother testified that the girl fabricated the accusations to retaliate against Velasquez for preventing her from seeing an adult boyfriend.

“Nothing ever happened,” Velasquez told the jury.  “[The victim] just said it now because [she] wants me in jail out of the way.  She wants me to leave her alone so she can be with him.”

The boyfriend, Nehemias Cristobel, testified Friday that the victim confided in him last year about the alleged abuse and that he encouraged her to report it.

Under cross examination, Cristobel, now 22,  admitted his relationship with the girl began when he was 20 and she was 12, but insisted that her mother and Velasquez approved of it on the condition their dates were chaperoned.

“Everyone tells lies in this world but I don’t think she would tell a lie this big,” he said.

The girl’s mother and the defendant’s brother, Guillermo Velasquez, both testified that the abuse could not have happened because the girl stayed overnight with relatives on days her mother worked the night shift.

The girl’s mother painted a portrait of an unruly and out-of-control teenager who made the accusations five years after the alleged incidents in response to efforts by her and Velasquez to prevent her from seeing Cristobel.  When she tried to take away the girl’s cell phone, a gift from Cristobel, the girl struck and pushed her, she told jurors.

The mother said she did not report the incident to police because she is an undocumented immigrant and feared deportation.

Defense attorney Justin Bartlett attacked the girl’s credibility, pointing out inconsistencies in her story and arguing that she has a history of lying.

“Our position is that they’re acting as reasonable parents.  They’re trying to prevent their daughter from engaging into a relationship with an adult,” he said.  “She’s upset because her parents are trying to reel her in, control her.”

Hiett questioned the financial motives of the mother in protecting Velasquez, the family’s breadwinner, and asked the jury to consider why a teenage girl would fabricate such “detailed and imaginative” abuse allegations.

“It would have been a lot easier for her to turn around and say this never happened.  There were alternatives for her and yelling rape was not the first one,” said Hiett.

“It’s always the child’s word against the perpetrator’s word.  When is a child’s word enough?”

Bartlett said he was not surprised that the trial ended with a hung jury and said the case hinged on the accuser’s credibility.

“There was the credibility of one person versus three witnesses that came forward to testify consistently,” he said. “I thought it could have been a mistrial; obviously we were hoping for an acquittal.”

If convicted, Velasquez faces a prison term of up to life on the rape charge and 36 months on the charge of gross sexual imposition.  He remains in the Warren County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

No new trial date has yet been set.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: child, child rape, crime, grand jury, gross sexual imposition, indicted, jorge velasquez, judge james l. flannery, jury trial, justin bartlett, mason, mistrial, pretrial hearing, rape, theresa hiett, trial, warren county common pleas

Is Jorge Velasquez a concerned stepfather or is he a sexual abuser and child rapist?

That’s the question before jurors in Warren County Common Pleas Court as they decide the fate of the accused Mason man.

Testimony wrapped up in the second day of trial for Velasquez, 33, who’s charged with one count of rape of a child.  Velasquez has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Prosecutors added a lesser charge of gross sexual imposition for jurors to consider.  The charge, a third-degree felony, carries a prison term of up to 36 months.

The case went to the jury of eight women and four men shortly before 1 p.m.

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Velasquez took the stand today in his own defense to counter allegations made by the teenage daughter of his girlfriend, who says he fondled and digitally penetrated her when she was 9.

The girl, now 14, testified Thursday that the alleged abuse began when her mother began working the night shift in late summer of 2006, leaving her and a toddler brother home alone with Velasquez.

The victim testified that the abuse began with the defendant fondling her in bed and then escalated to digital penetration.   The abuse stopped several months later when her mother stopped working the night shift, she said.

“He told me not to tell my mom or else,” she told jurors.  “I was scared because I thought if I told someone he would hurt me or anyone in my family.”

Although Velasquez and the girl’s mother are unmarried, the girl testified she regarded him as a father figure.  Velasquez and the girl’s mother have two other children together.

Velasquez vehemently denied the allegations.  Both he and the girl’s mother testified that she fabricated the accusations to retaliate against him for preventing her from seeing an adult boyfriend.

“Nothing ever happened,” he told the jury.  ”[The victim] just said it now because [she] wants me in jail out of the way.  She wants me to leave her alone so she can be with him.”

The boyfriend, Nehemias Cristobel, testified today that the victim confided in him last year about the alleged abuse and that he encouraged her to tell her mother or a teacher.

Under cross examination, Cristobel, now 22,  admitted that his relationship with the girl began when he was 20 and she was 12, but insisted that her mother and Velasquez approved of it as long as their dates were chaperoned.

He told the jury that an adult man dating a minor child was more socially and culturally acceptable in his native Guatemala, where both the victim and defendant also immigrated from.

“Everyone tells lies in this world but I don’t think she would tell a lie this big,” he said.

Velasquez said the abuse could not have happened because the girl stayed with Velasquez’s brother and sister-in-law overnight on days her mother worked the night shift.

Guillermo Velasquez took the stand Friday and told jurors that his brother, the defendant, was never permitted to be left alone with the girl.  The girl’s mother testified Thursday that she did not trust Velasquez to be left alone with her daughter.

In her closing argument, Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Theresa Hiett questioned why Guillermo Velasquez and the girl’s mother did not notify police about the defendant’s alleged lack of access to the girl.

“Would any of us allow a family member to sit (in jail) when you know you have the ace card in hand?” she asked.

Hiett suggested the girl’s mother might be protecting Velasquez for fear of the financial instability that could result should he be convicted and sent to prison.  Velasquez testified that he is the family’s primary breadwinner, although “not by much.”

She asked the jury to consider why a teenage girl would fabricate such detailed allegations of abuse.

“It would have been a lot easier for her to turn around and say this never happened.  There were alternatives for her and yelling rape was not the first one,” said Hiett.

“It’s always the child’s word against the perpetrator’s word.  When is a child’s word enough?”

Defense attorney Justin Bartlett attacked the girl’s credibility, pointing out inconsistencies in her story and arguing that she has a history of lying.

“Our position is that they’re acting as reasonable parents.  They’re trying to prevent their daughter from engaging into a relationship with an adult,” he said.  “She’s upset because her parents are trying to reel her in, control her.”

MasonBuzz will update this story.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: child, crime, grand jury, indicted, jorge velasquez, judge james l. flannery, jury trial, mason, pretrial hearing, rape, trial, warren county common pleas