Staff report

WARREN — A Niles man pleaded guilty Wednesday to four felony sex charges dealing with the rape of a 13-year-old in December.

Frank Mack Smith Jr., 35, of Cherry Avenue, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of fourth-degree gross sexual imposition before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean O’Brien. The case involved a 13-year-old girl who is related to the defendant.

The conviction calls for a mandatory prison sentence with Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman indicating he is going to recommend consecutive, indefinite prison sentences up to 31.5 years. Smith will undergo a background investigation before sentencing, during which O’Brien will label Smith a Tier 3 sexual offender, which would require Smith to register with the local sheriff’s office four times per year for the rest of his life.

The defendant, who has a lengthy criminal history in Trumbull County, has been held in the Trumbull County jail on a $350,000 bond since his arrest.