Delaware man found guilty of rape after three-day trial

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A Delaware man was found guilty of five charges of rape Friday afternoon after a three-day trial in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

Patrick Martin Howell, 46, of 22 Vernon Ave., was in court Friday when the guilty verdict was read for the five counts of rape, which are first-degree felonies.

Judge David Gormley scheduled a sentencing hearing for next Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

Assistant county prosecuting attorney Doug Dumolt told Gormley at Howell’s arraignment in May that Howell had engaged in various forms of sex with a girl under the age of 13 between April 2013 and October 2014. Dumolt added that Howell also used sex toys with the victim and showed her pornography.

Court documents say the rapes occurred between April 12, 2013, and Oct. 31, 2014, while the victim was younger than 13. She is now 13.

When Howell was indicted in May, Dumolt said the sentences for each of these charges would be life imprisonment because of the age of the victim.

Dumolt said Howell was arrested after the victim told a friend about what had occurred and the friend subsequently told an adult. Howell was arrested by Delaware police May 15 after the crime was reported to Delaware County Job and Family Services.

Howell was being held in the Delaware County Jail Friday afternoon.

Howell
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/11/web1_Patrick-Howell.jpgHowell

By Glenn Battishill

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Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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