A Canton man who allegedly molested two young boys last year was found competent to stand trial after months of deliberation.
Richard L. Merryman, 21, was charged with two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping after he allegedly molested 4- and 5-year-old boys at the Albany Community Center last year, according to court documents.
Merryman allegedly lured the 5-year-old boy into a bathroom stall, secured the door, pulled down the boy’s pants, touched his buttocks and performed oral sex on him, according to court documents.
He allegedly molested the other boy at the center the same day.
In February, the prosecution’s witness, Dr. David Malawista, found Merryman competent to stand trial. The defense’s witness, Dr. Jolie Brams, found that he was not.
The final decision of competency lies with the court and Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Ward found Merryman competent Tuesday.
The court decided that Merryman is able to understand the charges against him and can assist in his defense, according to court documents.
Brams testified at Merryman’s competency hearing Feb. 24 that he is mentally retarded, autistic in nature and has gross sexualized obsessions. Through her evaluation Brams found Merryman to have the intellectual functioning of a second grader, but his interests in “sexual perversions” are similar to those of a late elementary school student, according to court documents.
She testified that Merryman’s IQ is 69, but his vocabulary is that of someone with an IQ in the 80 range, according to court documents.
Malawista testified that Merryman has an autistic disorder, intellectual impairment, an anti-social personality and reactive attachment disorder.
Malawista testified that he believed Merryman’s IQ to be 70, however he did not conduct an IQ test, according to court documents.
A person’s cognitive ability does not tell if he or she is competent, Malawista testified. He also said that Merryman will be able to understand his case and assist in his defense with “repeated, detailed instruction by counsel,” according to court documents.
The court decided that Merryman’s ability to “fully assist in his own defense” is not needed for competency. The court also cited Merryman’s differing behavior around Malawista and Brams and that Brams did not ask him about the incident as reasons why he was found competent to stand trial, according to court documents.
Merryman’s trial date has not yet been set.
Merryman could be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the rape charges, because the victims are younger than 10. He also has the possibility of being sentenced to life without parole, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
ml147009@ohiou.edu
