Justice delayed is justice denied.

That’s a legal maxim that must never be taken lightly. Youngstown police, especially, should learn to live by it.

It was nine years ago when a then-18-year-old woman told Youngstown police officers and health care providers at a local hospital that she was raped inside her Youngstown home by her ex-boyfriend Franklin Herns.

There was physical evidence, and the young woman’s story never wavered.

For reasons that still have not been explained, a Youngstown police officer at the time asked the woman to sign a form. Still reeling and bewildered by the situation, she did not question the authority and signed the form.

She now knows the form was a statement indicating that she did not wish to prosecute the case.

This week, the rape victim finally had her day in court. She took the stand in the 2013 case to testify against Herns as the crime was finally being prosecuted.

The jury returned a guilty verdict against Herns, now 30. He will be sentenced next week and faces about 10 years in prison for the crime.

In fact, it was second time in six months that Herns was convicted of a Youngstown rape. He also was convicted Sept. 30, 2022, of raping a different woman he dated in 2021 at a Youngstown home where he lived. He was sentenced to serve 11 to 16 1/2 years in prison in that case.

During this week’s trial, the rape victim testified that a few days after the two had broken up in 2013, Herns showed up at her home unannounced, walked in, and they began to argue.

The woman said the argument got heated and physical. She stated under oath that he grabbed, choked and struck her several times. She said he then pushed her onto a sofa and, despite her struggles to get away, he raped her.

The woman spoke to a Youngstown police officer that day and went to the hospital, where a rape kit was performed. She said two police officers and a case worker spoke with her the next day.

The officers handed her a form and she signed it. She said the officers did not thoroughly explain the form to her, but she learned later it was a form saying she did not want to go forward with prosecution. If she had known, she would not have signed it, she said.

That was a gross miscarriage of justice from the very people who are trained to serve and help protect the public.

Prosecutors have said that in May of 2018, the rape kit of the woman raped in 2013 was submitted to BCI, where it was discovered that unknown male DNA was found in a swab from the woman’s underwear.

In July 2021, the victim of the 2021 rape came forward. Her story was similar to the one from 2013. She said she did not want to have sex, but Herns would not take no for an answer.

The DNA from the 2021 victim matched the DNA from the 2013 victim, according to prosecutors.

Finally, in July 2022, detective Jessica Shields, head of the Special Victims Unit Youngstown Police Department, interviewed the woman in the 2013 case.

It wasn’t until that interview that the victim felt that anyone cared.

“I felt like she actually cared about what was going on with me,” the woman said, and she decided to go forward with the prosecution.

So often we hear stories that sexual assault victims often are left wondering if anyone believes them. They often feel as though they are being victimized all over again.

This story is a prime example of a serious miscarriage of justice that must never, ever happen again.

The guilty verdict handed down this week by a Mahoning County jury should serve as a strong reminder to all who investigate reported sex crimes.

Treat victims with respect and believe their story until there is a real reason not to.

editorial@vindy.com