Man ruled competent to stand trial on 19 sex-related charges
Charges include rape, illegal use of minors in material.
A 22-year-old Lima LIMA — man facing 19 sex-related charges has been ruled competent to stand trial.
A tentative trial date of Feb. 19, 2019, was set Wednesday in Allen County Common Pleas Court Wednesday for Perry Jones on a variety of charges.
Jones was indicted in May by an Allen County grand jury on crimes ranging from rape to the use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. The rape charge, a first-degree felony, alleges that Jones engaged in sexual conduct with a 9 year old between August 2015 and November 2015.
Jones is also charged with 15 counts of the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, all felonies of the second degree, and two counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies, related to sexual conduct with a child less than 13 years of age.
The remaining count against Jones is a fourth-degree felony count of tampering with evidence.
One of the charges stems from an incident in which Jones is alleged to have taken a cell phone photo of a young female with her diaper pulled to the side. Using photo GPS coordinates, police were directed to a residence in the 1100 block of Richie Avenue in Lima. According to court documents, Jones initially told police he was aware of the photo but did not know who took it. He later admitted taking the photo.
Jones’ attorney, John Hopkins, in June raised the issue of his client’s competency to stand trial and requested a competency evaluation. The motion was granted and Jones was evaluated by psychologists at the Forensic Psychiatry Center for Western Ohio.
During a pre-trial hearing Wednesday, Judge Jeffery Reed said the results of the evaluation indicated Jones is competent to stand trial.
On June 30, Hopkins filed a motion with the court asking to enter a plea on behalf of his client of not guilty on the grounds of insanity. Based on the results of the competency exam, that motion was dismissed.