LIMA — A 62-year-old man facing life in prison on charges that accuse him of sex crimes against children wants statements he made to police tossed, saying his Constitutional rights were violated.
An attorney for Ronald Payne argued Wednesday police should have issued Payne a “Miranda warning” advising him of his Constitutional rights, including his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney, before talking to him.
But a Lima police investigator and an FBI agent who interviewed Payne said he was not in custody or under arrest at the time of the interviews. Advising a person of his Constitutional rights is only required if a person is in custody at the time of the interview.
Judge David Cheney said he would review the audio and video tapes of the interviews, as well as consider testimony from Wednesday’s hearing, before making a decision.
Payne’s attorney, Greg Donohue, said Payne was not free to walk out of the juvenile bureau at the Lima Police Department and was detained in his own house when police searched it.
“He was in custody and should have been read his Constitutional rights, commonly known as Miranda, and any statements should be suppressed,” Donohue said.
Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell said police acted appropriately, and the statements he made to investigators should be allowed into the case. The statements also include whatever he told an FBI agent conducting a lie detector test.
Payne, of 3437 N. West St., Lima, is charged with rape, a first-degree felony; three counts of attempted rape, each a second-degree felony; 12 counts of gross sexual imposition, each a third-degree felony; gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony; two counts of trafficking in persons, each a first-degree felony; 17 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, each a second-degree felony; and 17 other counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, each a fifth-degree felony.
The alleged crimes occurred between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 27, 2015. One of the alleged victims was a 12-year-old girl when the alleged crimes began, and the other was a 15-year-old girl, Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Terri Kohlrieser said.
Some of the charges carry up to life in prison as the maximum sentence, Kohlrieser said.
The illegal use of a minor charges accuse Payne of obtaining child pornography on his phone, transferring it to his computer and saving the files, Kohlrieser said.
The children were not related to Payne. They were acquaintances, Kohlrieser said.
The trafficking charges accuse Payne of transporting the children somewhere else to engage in sexual activity and giving them some type of payment, Kohlrieser said.
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