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WARREN -- Two teenagers sat on the witness stand Tuesday recalling the details of their alleged rape by a relative beginning when they were younger than 10.
The two teens testified during a jury trial in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Rice against defendant Nicholas Clark, 32, of Girard, who was arrested in October.
Clark is facing eight felony charges that include seven counts of rape, five of which carry life specification, and a single charge of gross sexual imposition.
The younger victim, when asked by Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Diane Barber why he was there to testify, bluntly told Barber he was there because a relative had raped him.
He told the court the alleged sexual abuse started when he was 8, having happened about four times at two separate locations -- their former Girard mobile home and their current Niles residence.
He told jurors that Clark raped him in a bathroom while he was living in Girard.
Clark later moved into the same South Street home in Niles as the victims, where the sexual abuse allegedly continued.
In fall of 2021, the younger of the two victims said Clark had been living in the basement and recalled the defendant calling him into his room where he said he again was sexually assaulted. Another incident he disclosed to Barber had occurred in a bathroom in the basement, similar to the Girard allegation.
The boy testified that Clark had told him not to tell anyone or he could go to jail.
The older of the victims testified that he had broken down and told his parents he was raped by Clark months after the defendant was kicked out of their Niles home in 2022.
Similar to the younger victim, the alleged abuse began at the mobile home in Girard, and the victim cited at least 30 total encounters with Clark between there and Niles.
The first time he said he remembered being raped by Clark happened around age 8 or 9 in the defendant's bedroom, telling jurors that he was penetrated by Clark and recalling to Barber that it was painful. He testified Clark told him "something bad would happen" if he told.
The majority of the second victim's abuse he said occurred in Niles, detailing to Barber several different instances during which Clark allegedly raped him. About a month before the defendant was kicked out of the home for his lack of employment, the victim said Clark had gotten more forceful.
The teen said he finally had worked up the courage to tell his parents after the defendant was kicked out, saying he wanted to protect his infant sister, born in 2019, and other neighborhood children whom he believed could have gotten hurt by Clark.
Shortly after the older boy told the Niles Police Department what happened, the parents said the younger boy also decided to come forward.
The parents of the victims had testified that they noticed red flags in the children's behavior prior to them coming forward, with both of them noting the older boy became more argumentative and protective over his infant sister. They noticed the younger victim became withdrawn, refused to participate in family activities and experienced frequent nightmares.
Both parents said they saw improvements in the children when they started to attend therapy sessions.
Tensions flared when one of Clark's attorney's, Ross Smith, was going down a line of questioning, asking the child who he had spoken with prior to taking the stand, to which the child responded, "What do you mean?" and Smith remarked back, "Wow dude you're a pro."
The remark prompted Barber to object on the basis of being argumentative, which Rice then sustained as Smith continued his line of questioning.
"In preparation for you sitting in that chair right there and testifying in a court of law, who did you speak to?"
The teen asked Smith to be more specific.
The moment came to a head when Smith asked the amount of times the teen alleged to have been raped at the Girard mobile home to which the teen replied he was not sure. Smith quipped back, "You're not sure? Because we're going to get into it now, bro."
The remark quickly drew Barber to object, which was sustained by Rice as she immediately called for counsel to speak with her in her chambers, resuming after about two minutes with the teen left sitting on the stand.
Finishing out the day, the jurors heard from more relatives of the teen victims, along with hearing testimony from a victim advocacy representative before both sides rested. Closing arguments are expected today.
cmcbride@tribtoday.com