YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Bond was set Thursday at $750,000 for a Warren man who successfully appealed his rape conviction as well as a 77-year prison sentence.
Dustin Ruiter is being held in the Mahoning County Jail, where he was transferred from state prison after his 2021 conviction on 73 counts involving three victims was overturned Sept. 29 by the Seventh District Court of Appeals.
The bond was set Thursday during a pretrial hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court before Judge Anthony D’Apolito.
Ruiter was sentenced Jan. 4, 2022, after a jury found him guilty Oct. 22, 2021. At least 60 years of that sentence were mandatory.
Ruiter maintained his innocence during the trial.
Prosecutors said Ruiter claimed he was helping the children because they had medical conditions, but they contend he assaulted them instead.
Investigators found Ruiter’s DNA in a sample taken from a rape kit that was performed on one of the victims, prosecutors said. All of the victims were under 18 when the crimes occurred.
The appeals court overturned his convictions and sentencing because they found that Ruiter should have been able to have his own expert witness on DNA testify and because he was indigent, the state would pay for it.
Ruiter wanted the DNA expert to address the potential transferability of semen and bodily fluids through nonsexual means, the appeal stated. The appeal said the court refused to allow funds to pay for the expert, saying the case had already gone on too long and the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation already does DNA testing, and sometimes those results favor defendants.
A new court date in the case has yet to be set.
