YOUNGSTOWN — Todd Perkins is going back to prison after a jury convicted him Thursday of rape and gross sexual imposition against a child relative.

The girl was 4 years old when she told her mother about sex acts Perkins forced upon her in his home between October 2015 and October 2016.

Perkins, 58, of Coitsville-Hubbard Road in Youngstown, was indicted in May 2019 on six counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition against two girls related to him. He pleaded guilty to two child rapes in May 2021 before Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

His lawyers filed an appeal, saying Sweeney should have agreed to separate the cases involving the two children because a jury hearing testimony about both alleged victims “would infer (Perkins’) guilt from one case to the other,” according to the ruling. The Seventh District Court of Appeals sided with Perkins in August 2022, and he was released from prison.

This week’s trial, which began Monday, focused only on the allegations made by one of the girls. During the trial, no mention was made of the other alleged victim or related charges.

The prosecution rested its case Wednesday, and defense attorneys John Juhasz and Lynn Maro presented their entire case Thursday.

The defense called only two witnesses: Perkins and Rosemary Pastore, a former girlfriend of his. Pastore’s testimony seemed to support the heart of Perkins’ argument — that he could not have committed the sexual offenses the girl described because he suffered from sexual dysfunction.

Perkins then stated as much when he was on the stand and denied the allegations. “I absolutely did not do it,” he said. “I would never hurt a child, any child.”

During closing arguments, prosecuting attorney Kevin Day said the case was as simple as listening to the girl. On Wednesday, jurors saw video of a forensic interview conducted about a week after the girl reported the abuse, in 2016, at Akron Children’s Hospital’s Child Advocacy Center. In the video, the girl told the interviewer in detail about the sexual acts Perkins committed.

“She provided experiential details. She said things a 4-year-old wouldn’t and shouldn’t know. The only way she would know them is if she experienced them for herself,” he said.

For the defense, attorney Lynn Maro tried to convince the jury that the girl’s statements were inconsistent and not reliable, given her age, and suggested that her mother may have coached her.

The jury retired for deliberations at 2 p.m. and returned two hours later with guilty verdicts on both counts.

The rape count also includes an additional finding that the victim was under 10 years of age when the crime occurred, which will be an aggravating factor in sentencing. The court has not yet set a sentencing date, but Perkins was led away in handcuffs immediately following the verdict.

“We believe the jury reached the right verdict and obviously we’re very pleased with the outcome,” said Rob Andrews, senior trial counsel for the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office. The defense had no comment.

The girl’s mother, after sharing tears of joy and relief with her older daughter, said she was glad to be done with the ordeal.

“I’m just happy we got to this point. I’m happy it’s over, and justice seems to be served,” she said.

dpompili@vindy.com