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Police, parents of girl, 16, upset after grand jury refuses to indict man, 24
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Mar 20, 2008
A Mogadore High School coach accused of having sex with a student will only face misdemeanor charges of lying to police.
A Summit County grand jury refused last week to indict Raymond Barry III on sexual battery charges.
Police and the girl's family were told that the assistant coach's job doesn't meet the legal definition of an authority figure and therefore sexual battery is not an appropriate charge.
At this point in the case, Barry's alleged encounter with the 16-year-old girl does not violate any state laws.
''Apparently, my interpretation of an authority figure is different than theirs,'' Mogadore Police Chief David Fowler said Wednesday.
Barry was indicted on charges of falsification and obstructing official business, both misdemeanors. He faces a maximum eight-month jail sentence.
Ohio law prohibits sex between persons in authority — coaches, teachers, counselors — even if the child gives consent. Summit County prosecutors have used the sexual
battery statute against other coaches, teachers and bus drivers accused of having sex with children.
Fowler said he and the teen's parents want to know why Barry doesn't fit the legal definition of an authority figure. A meeting is being scheduled with prosecutors.
''I'm finding it very difficult to believe that an assistant coach is not an authority figure. The man is connected to the school, he's paid by the school, whether he's a coach or an assistant coach,'' Fowler said.
''But that's what we want to find out. Why isn't this man considered a person of authority? To us, a coach is an authority figure.''
Barry, 24, was an assistant girls coach at Mogadore High. He did not teach at the school. The girl, a Mogadore High student, was not a basketball team member.
Barry, a paid coach for about four years at the school, was suspended after his arrest earlier this month based on allegations that he had sex with the teen.
Barry's attorney, Thomas Kelley of Akron, declined to comment on the case.
Brad Gessner, Summit County's chief assistant prosecutor, said grand jurors were made aware by another prosecutor of ''issues'' related to the legal definition of Barry being in a position of authority over the girl.
He said Barry was not the girl's coach, he was not a teacher at the school and he held a full-time job elsewhere. He only coached basketball, anafter-school activity.
Gessner said bus drivers, security guards and custodians have been found to be ''authority figures'' because ''they are there with (students) in the school.''
''This girl wasn't on the team. The difference on the other ones is there's interaction there from their position,'' he said.
''You have to show that the person had authority over that victim. That's the whole idea of this section (of the sexual battery law). That someone's compelled by someone. They feel they have to do this because of the authority this person has over them.''
Gessner said that because the girl was 16, she was old enough under Ohio law to give consent to sex with an adult and no other sex charges are applicable in this case.
Ultimately, he said, the grand jury made the decision on the case. He would not comment on its choice.
''Absent the authority over a 16-year-old, the 16-year-old by law can consent. That's the law the (state) legislature made. And we have to apply the laws that are there,'' he said.
Fowler said the misdemeanor charges accuse Barry of lying about having a relationship with the girl when questioned by police detectives.
Fowler said that prior to the grand jury hearing, prosecutors called his department's investigation into the allegations ''a great case.'' The girl's parents could not be reached for comment.
''I know we have the victim's parents upset over the situation and we're looking into the reasons why . . . it was reduced from sexual battery, felony charges into misdemeanors,'' Fowler said.
''You're talking about children here and when there's a coach involved, that's crossing the line. I just feel we need to protect our children down here. We don't need to set precedents for anything else coming in the future here or anywhere else.''
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
A Mogadore High School coach accused of having sex with a student will only face misdemeanor charges of lying to police.
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