WARREN — A Trumbull County jury convicted a Warren man of kidnapping and felonious assault of a 70-year-old woman after a trial on Thursday in the courtroom of Common Pleas Judge Sarah Thomas Kovoor.

John Baker, 64, was found not guilty on a single count of rape. He’s set to be sentenced after a pre-sentence investigation at a date to be determined.

The case involved an incident on Feb. 20, 2025, in Champion Township. The victim testified that the defendant, Baker, attacked her in her home. She said he threw her on a bed, tore off her leggings, and penetrated her with his finger or penis. The victim said she locked herself in a bathroom and called for help, reporting that Baker stabbed the door with a knife while saying he would kill her.

Dr. Megan Thomas, an emergency medicine physician at Mercy Health-St. Joseph Warren Hospital since 2014, examined the victim that day. She found a small tear in the victim’s vaginal wall with fresh blood, along with fresh bruises on her thigh and knee and an abrasion on her wrist. Thomas testified that the vaginal tear was caused by trauma, not aging, and was consistent with the victim’s report of an assault.

Lindsey Nelson Roush, a forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation since 2008, tested evidence from the case. She found no DNA from Baker in the victim’s sexual assault kit, including cervical and perianal swabs. However, a swab from the exterior crotch of the victim’s underwear showed a DNA mixture from two people — one matching the victim and the other matching Baker. Roush said the chance of the unknown DNA belonging to someone else was rarer than one in 1 trillion, compared to Earth’s population of about 8 billion.

Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker argued that the victim’s testimony, medical records and DNA evidence proved Baker’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He pointed to a knife with a bent blade and white paint found on the victim’s bed, matching damage to her bathroom door, which had been stabbed multiple times. Becker noted that police body camera footage showed Baker was intoxicated and gave conflicting statements, claiming both a “sex-a-thon” and impotence.

Defense attorney Kristin Maxwell argued that the victim’s testimony was unreliable due to memory issues, citing an incident the day before where the victim got lost in another county. Maxwell said the victim let Baker stay in her home for eight hours, gave him food and socks and changed into a nightshirt, suggesting she was comfortable. Maxwell also noted no DNA from Baker was found on the victim’s body and questioned why the knife and leggings were not tested for DNA.

The trial included testimony from police officers, the victim’s family, and 28 exhibits, including body camera videos, 911 calls and photos of the knife and damaged door.