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YOUNGSTOWN -- Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court has dismissed three counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition against Raymond M. Bowman, 26, of Crum Road in Austintown at the request of prosecutors.
The reason is that the alleged victim won't be capable of testifying by the time the trial was scheduled to start Tuesday.
Two county assistant prosecutors visited the boy last week, and "we do not believe he will be able to testify at this time," Jennifer McLaughlin, county assistant prosecutor, told the judge during a hearing Wednesday.
McLaughlin asked that the charges be dismissed "without prejudice," meaning they can be refiled later when the boy is better able to participate in the trial. She said she thinks the alleged victim "needs more time to work through some things with a counselor."
McLaughlin said the charges heavily rely on the testimony of the child, so the trial cannot go forward without him. The judge agreed to dismiss the charges.
Bowman still has pending charges of felony assault and felony obstructing official business in a separate case resulting from an Oct. 13 traffic stop. It came one day after Bowman was secretly indicted on the rape and gross sexual imposition charges, which alleged crimes against a child from September 2022 through March of 2023.
Austintown police made a traffic stop on Bowman's vehicle Oct. 13 and discovered he had warrants on the rape and gross sexual imposition indictments. Reports state that Bowman kicked an officer in the knee and was otherwise not cooperative with police during his arrest and transport to the Mahoning County jail.