COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in a case involving juvenile
court judges’ jurisdiction over youthful sex offenders.
At issue is a Cincinnati-area defendant who sexually abused two young relatives when he was 14, according
to court records. The defendant was convicted in juvenile court in 2011 and labeled a juvenile sexual
offender, requiring him to register with authorities annually for ten years, the records show.
State law allows juvenile offenders to petition a judge to have a sex offender classification removed.
Although the defendant successfully completed his probation requirements and treatment in 2013, his
reclassification hearing wasn’t held until shortly before he turned 21 in 2017, records show. The
judge’s order continuing the sex offender classification came three months later.
Attorneys for the defendant argue the judge’s jurisdiction over him stopped both when his probation
ended, and when he turned 21.
An appeals court agreed, and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office has asked the state high court to
overturn that ruling. The Supreme Court on Thursday set arguments for Aug. 5.