Two local juveniles have been charged criminally and it could pave the way for more charges in the alleged sexual assault at the Union County Fairgrounds last year.
Earlier this month, Union County Prosecutor Dave Phillips charged a pair of juveniles with voyeurism, tampering with evidence and obstructing official business.
According to Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton, the alleged incident involved a 19-year-old female victim and a 40-year-old man.
Patton said the man and woman were part of a larger gathering on the fairgrounds. He said the victim told investigators many of the people were drinking in the camping area. She said, in the overnight hours, between Sunday, July 23, and Monday, July 24, she was sexually assaulted by the man inside a camper.
The victim was taken to a local hospital where evidence was collected.
Law enforcement was contacted and the camper was secured until investigators could get permission from the camper’s owner to collect evidence. A mobile crime scene unit from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) was called to the scene and gathered evidence.
Phillips said the juveniles are witnesses in the sexual assault case that remains under investigation. He said these juveniles cannot testify as witnesses without incriminating themselves.
“Because of their conduct, these witnesses could be in jeopardy, unless they waive their rights and no good defense attorney would recommend that, so we need to work through these juvenile cases and get them resolved before we can move forward,” Phillips said.
He added that the process is ongoing but “the juvenile cases will take awhile.”
Phillips said once the juvenile cases are resolved, there will be no issues preventing their testimony.
He said there are also other issues.
“We don’t present a case until we have all of the evidence or as much of the evidence as we can. We are still getting stuff in on the case,” Phillips said, noting the most recent submission from the sheriff’s office was received Jan. 4.
He said the Ohio Attorney General’s BCI still has evidence that needs tested.
“Because the labs are so backed up, they limit their testing,” Phillips said.
He said that based on the results, a detective in the case asked for additional testing but BCI declined. Phillips said he would also ask for the additional testing and would hopefully have a better response.
The prosecutor said he is hopeful that while the juvenile cases are in the legal process, the lab will be conducting its tests concurrently.
“Once we have all these witnesses and all that DNA evidence, we will present that to grand jury,” Phillips said.
He added, “the grand jury is still the one that needs to decide if there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed.”
Phillips said his office has more than 70 cases that are in some process of investigation to be taken to the grand jury. He said this sexual assault case is being treated exactly the same as every other case.
“Some cases just come together pretty quickly, others do not,” Phillips said.