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Day care rapist up for parole

Prosecutor argues against two cases

WARREN — Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins is arguing against the release on parole of two men convicted in the 1990s in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court of sexually assaulting children as young as 2.

Clyde Bush, 69, has been in prison for 29 years, after admitting to raping or molesting 10 children in 1990, when he pleaded guilty to eight counts of child rape, one count of attempted child rape and five counts of gross sexual imposition, according to a letter Watkins wrote earlier this month to the acting chair of the Ohio Parole Board.

Bush is up for parole in April. He was sentenced to eight life sentences. Watkins opposed his parole in 2014 and 2009.

The man deserves to “die in prison,” Watkins states in the letter.

Bush assaulted the children, who were ages 2 to 6 at the time of the crimes, over a two-year period.

“These children were robbed of their innocence and subjected not only to physical trauma, but also such mental anguish as we will never know. Thirty years later, these children are still suffering from damage caused by Clyde Bush,” states Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe, in a letter supporting Watkins’ position. Monroe was the lead investigator on the case when he was an officer with the Howland Police Department.

Bush’s wife was running a day care in the township, where he found and assaulted the victims, when his wife left to run errands. Parents reported him to the police.

Bush’s age doesn’t make him less likely to reoffend, Watkins argues.

“We have successfully prosecuted 70-year-old child molesters,” the letter states.

“Textbook pedophiles” shouldn’t be released from life sentences, the letter states.

“Even in a wheelchair, if inmate Bush is able to hold a baby or a toddler, he would be able to sexually assault them. There is zero chance to reoffend if he serves his full sentence,” Watkins states.

Bush is labeled as a “low” risk by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which Watkins “strongly disagrees” with.

Because there are no children in prison, Bush hasn’t had a chance to reoffend, Watkins argues.

Bush is being held at the Franklin Medical Center for Ohio inmates.

David Owens, 54, too, has a parole board hearing in April.

The man is locked up at Lake Erie Correctional Institution, serving a life sentence for four counts of rape. Owens had eight victims, ages 2 to 13, according to a letter from Watkins to the parole board.

Owens has been in prison for more than 26 years, where he has accumulated 54 infractions, including threatening and stalking a female corrections officer, the letter states.

When a boy, 7, saw Owens raping his sister, Owens held a gun to the boy’s head and threatened to kill the kids’ parents if they told, Watkins said.

Watkins said Owens is an “extreme risk” to the community.

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