AG blasted on linked rape probe

PORT CLINTON — The man running against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost slammed the incumbent on Tuesday for failing to prosecute rape cases linked by DNA evidence. Crossman "If there's a serial rapist on the loose, it's up to the attorney general to act far quicker than he is currently doing and, at the very least, the public deserves a response from (him) on the status of the investigation," said state Rep. Jeff Crossman, D-Parma, the Democratic nominee for Ohio attorney general. "I'm not surprised at Yost's insensitivity on this issue, he has a history of not prioritizing or believing women, as evident by the Arica Waters case." Yost has refused for weeks to answer questions about the current investigation, or the Waters case Crossman mentioned. In that case, Yost convinced a grand jury to indict Waters for allegedly lying about being raped, an assertion that was disproved at a trial in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court in December when Waters was acquitted of all charges. Yost never explained why he sought to convict a woman under those circumstances, and when two other women were discovered to have accused the same man he suggested they too were providing false information about being raped. Yost "Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars accusing young females of falsely reporting rape, maybe work to believe women and prosecute actual rapists," Crossman said. "Clearly, Dave Yost does not support women, nor is he apparently willing to protect them." In the more recent reporting by the Register, Yost refuses to say why, after more than two years investigating a person linked by DNA to at least three different rape complaints, that there's been no charges filed. Yost's chief prosecutor Carol O'Brien and a spokesman, Steve Irwin, also have ignored inquiries. The Ottawa County Sheriff's office also failed to provide public records of the investigations it completed years ago related to the linked cases, or say much of anything about why no charges were ever filed. The sheriff's office has not provided a proper explanation that complies with the state's Public Records Act for why it is refusing to disclose the old reports. The office has a history of failing to properly conduct rape investigations. The Register has pending public records request with the sheriff's office, with Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten and with the Put-in-Bay police for records related to the old cases and other information believed to be related. Crossman is serving his second term in the Ohio House of Representatives and represents the 15th Ohio House District comprised primarily of Parma and areas in Cleveland's Southwest neighborhoods.