A former Chesterville man charged with nearly 40 counts of sexually assaulting four boys over a two-year span was in Franklin County Superior Court Thursday as his attorney asked for more time to seek information and evidence from prosecutors.
Jonathan Clark, 28, was charged in April with six counts of class A gross sexual assault for repeatedly assaulting a boy he lived with. According to court documents, since his last court appearence in May, he has been charged with more than 30 additional sex crimes, including 12 that prosecutors say involved a single victim.
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Clark is charged with 29 counts of gross sexual assault, four counts of class B unlawful sexual contact, one charge of sexual exploitation of a minor, a charge of dissemination of sexually explicit material and a charge of sexual abuse of a minor.
Two dozen of the alleged assaults were to one victim, according to court documents.
Clark was a family friend of the mother of two of the victims, prosecutors said, and moved into their house in November 2012 and would sleep in the same bed as one of the victims, where some of the assaults occurred. The affidavit said that after the mother told Clark she was buying bunk beds so he didn’t have to share a bed with her son, Clark became upset and moved out of the home.
After Clark moved out, the victims would sometimes spend the night at Clark’s mother’s house, where he was staying, according to court documents. The affidavit said Clark would often buy things for the boys over the course of the abuse and that some of the acts were videotaped and put online.
A court conference on the case is scheduled for Nov. 5 with trial set to begin on Dec. 8.
Clark’s attorney, Brad Grant, was given a 90-day extension of the discovery period, during which he can seek documents and evidence from prosecutors.
Police had previously said Clark confessed to the assaults during an interview with investigators.
Jesse Scardina — 861-9239
Twitter: @jessescardina
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