Burbank man convicted on two of nine sex crimes

WOOSTER — A Wayne County judge on Tuesday convicted a Burbank man of one count of rape and one count of sexual battery, while acquitting him on seven additional sex crimes stemming from allegations that the man abused two of his stepdaughters.

Following a day-and-a-half-long trial, Judge Mark K. Wiest found Richard Fortune, 41, guilty of the charges that he sexually abused the younger of his two stepdaughters in 2009 and 2010, when she was 9 years old.

That woman, now 18, said during her testimony Monday that Fortune abused her about five times total. All of those instances, she said, occurred as she slept on the couch in the living room of the family’s house on Emerick Street. Wooster police began investigating the allegations against Fortune in 2017, after the woman disclosed to her psychiatrist that her stepfather had molested her.

During the course of that investigation, Fortune’s older stepdaughter, now 22, alleged that Fortune abused her repeatedly from the time she was 5 years old until she was 13. Wiest said he believed Fortune groomed his older stepdaughter to view the abuse as normal.

“In my mind, in my opinion, I believe that Richard Fortune was grooming her, to the point where, as the prosecutor pointed out, this almost became normal,” Wiest said.

But, Wiest added, Fortune’s defense attorneys did point out some inconsistent details in the older woman’s account of her abuse.

“The bottom line is the court has to be firmly convinced of the truth of these charges — not fairly convinced or somewhat convinced, but firmly convinced,” Wiest said. “... I truly believe that something happened (to the older woman). But when I talk about being convinced, with regard to the charges against Mr. Fortune regarding (the older woman), I would say I am fairly convinced.”

So, Wiest acquitted Fortune on the three counts of rape, first-degree felonies, and four counts of sexual battery, second-degree felonies, stemming from the older woman’s allegations.

Before Wiest issued his verdict, Fortune’s defense attorneys presented their case, including evidence that they argued showed that the two women made up their allegations against Fortune as a way to drive a wedge between their parents.

Defense attorneys called as a witness the women’s younger sister, who said her older sisters discussed with her the idea of accusing her father of sexual abuse.

“They just wanted (our parents) to split up because they weren’t happy together and the whole house’s energy was just off and it just made everybody depressed,” the girl, 15, said. “... They wanted me to say that when I was younger that he touched me, as well.”

The girl said her sisters told her that their accusations against Fortune would not get him in legal trouble because they believed the statute of limitations for their allegations had already passed. The girl also said her sisters believed Fortune would not be able to remember the time period of the allegations they would make. Testimony on Monday revealed that Fortune’s memory issues stem from a 2012 suicide attempt that put him in a coma for several days, leading him to forget many details of events prior to that.

But senior assistant prosecutor John Williams called one final witness who said the girl had previously said she did not discuss her sisters’ allegations against their father with her.

Jessica Musser, a victim’s advocate for the prosecutor’s office, worked with the youngest sister on a separate case. During discussions about that case, Musser said, the girl said she never discussed the allegations against her father with her sisters.

“(The girl) told us that she is not close with any member of her family, except for her father, and that she has never spoken to her sisters in any way in regards to the sexual abuse that occurred,” Musser said. “... She said that she would be very devastated if (Fortune) went to jail or prison and she hopes that what (her sisters) said isn’t true, but she has no reason to not believe them.”

Following the verdict, Maxwell Hiltner, an Akron-based attorney who represented Fortune, said he respected Wiest’s decision, adding that Fortune will likely appeal.

“It’s just interesting that it’s acquittal on one girl and then conviction on the other. And the one who said that she was violently raped over a period of 10 years, that’s the acquittal,” Hiltner said. “That’s tough to swallow.”

In order to find Fortune guilty on any charges, Hiltner added, the judge would have had to believe that the younger sister was not telling the truth.

“I have a tough time believing that,” Hiltner said.

Prosecutor Dan Lutz credited Williams and the Wooster Police Department for their work that led to Fortune’s conviction. These types of cases, in which victims report offenses years after they occurred, are tough for investigators and judges or juries, Lutz added.

“And although Judge Wiest indicated in court today that he was only ‘fairly convinced’ as to the truth of the allegations of one of the two victims, I’m pleased he was ‘firmly convinced’ as to the allegations of the other victim, requiring him to find the defendant guilty of two very serious offenses from which the defendant now faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years to life (in prison),” Lutz said in an email.

Following the verdict, Wiest revoked Fortune’s bond, and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office took him into custody. Wiest set Fortune’s sentencing for next Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Reporter Jack Rooney can be reached at 330-287-1645 or jrooney@the-daily-record.com. He is on Twitter at twitter.com/?RooneyReports.

CREDIT: JACK ROONEY