Fitchburg man found not guilty of child rape on last of five charges after 2019 mistrial
WORCESTER - A Worcester Superior Court jury found a Fitchburg man Wednesday not guilty on charges of child rape aggravated by age difference and indecent assault and battery three years after he was acquitted of two other charges for the same case.
Ryan M. Kobus, a 32-year-old tattoo artist and bouncer at a former Worcester nightclub, broke into tears after the acquittal of the last two of five charges that resulted from alleged sexual assaults in Leominster on various dates between Feb. 1 and June 15, 2017, beginning when the complaining witness, a girl, was 13.
Basement where Kobus lived
The girl was a neighbor who often frequented the basement of a house where Kobus lived, by the admittance of both parties.
Kobus testified that the girl’s mother was aware of each of the girl’s visits, during which the girl would do her homework while he played video games.
In August 2017, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office brought forward three charges of child rape aggravated by age difference and two charges of indecent assault and battery on a child.
A conviction for child rape aggravated by age difference carries a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence.
Kobus, who had been living in Leominster at the time, was placed in custody in lieu of $30,000 cash bail.
After a jury trial in August 2019, he was found not guilty of two charges by a 12-member jury after two and a half days of deliberations.
The judge at the time, David Ricciardone, declared a mistrial on the other three charges after the jury was deadlocked on a decision.
Kobus, who now lives in Fitchburg, was later released on a $10,000 bail and on the condition that he wore a GPS device.
The trial was eventually rescheduled to take place Monday. On that day, one of the three child rape charges was dropped by the DA’s office.
During the trial proceedings, defense attorney Adrian Angus described the relationship as that of “older brother, younger sister,” adding that the girl had sought mentorship from Kobus, who was 26 during the time of the alleged assaults.
The girl testified in court and described several instances of sexual intercourse between her and Kobus, describing in detail the encounters which the DA’s prosecuting attorney, David McShera, reiterated in closing statements.
Sent photos
McShera also cited instances in which Kobus had allegedly sent photos of his genitals and had made comments to her through text messages.
After three hours of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Kobus not guilty on the remaining two charges; one of child rape aggravated by age difference, and one of indecent assault and battery three years after he was acquitted of two other charges for the same case.
Following the decision, Judge William J. Ritter ordered that the GPS device that Kobus had worn for three years was to be removed.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ryan Kobus of Fitchburg acquitted of child rape and assault charges
