Ohio man who molested 6-year-old niece till she turned 11 confesses to her on video call, gets jailed for life
MARBLEHEAD, OHIO: A man who repeatedly molested his niece over several years, starting from when she was just six years old, was sentenced to life in prison after she got him to confess on Facebook messenger. Richard D Rose, Jr, 59, of Port Clinton, was found guilty of five counts of rape at the Ottawa County Common Pleas Court this past Wednesday, August 12. He was told he would be spending the rest of his life behind bars, much to the relief of his victim, niece Marianna Mazzeo.
"I’m feeling strong and I’m feeling empowered — two things I haven’t felt in a long time," she told People. "He won’t be able to hurt anyone again." Mazzeo was molested by Rose from ages six to 11, and the abuse led to her engaging in self-harm. When she was just 14, she attempted suicide and was put into a residential mental health facility. It was there that she reported the abuse to the authorities, resulting in a criminal investigation being opened against her uncle.
According to the Port Clinton News-Herald, the Danbury Township Police were contacted by an employee of Lorain County Children’s Services, who told them that a juvenile in their care told them she was abused by Rose. The 59-year-old was subsequently interviewed by Danbury Township Police in November 2013 but denied having any sexual contact with the victim. Detective Mark Meisler stated that he "appeared to be extremely nervous during the interview." He said Rose was evasive in answering questions, especially about the reported sexual abuse.
Rose also denied a lie detector test and the investigation stalled, that is, until Mazzeo decided to take matters into her own hands. "When I found out, I wrote in my journal, ‘He stole five years of my childhood that I’ll never get back,'" she said. "It’s not over. I’ll get a confession." It would be another three years before she got tired of waiting for the authorities to take action. In 2017, she said she was triggered when she saw a man who resembled her uncle and realized she could no longer hide from her past. She decided to text him in an attempt to communicate, and eventually, managed to schedule a video chat with him on Facebook messenger.
Before the dreaded call, she set up two cell phones, one for the call and one to record the confession she was going to get from him. She hit the record button as soon as his face appeared on her phone, and was unable to hold back her tears as he apologized for his actions. But it wasn't enough, she needed him to admit to molesting her. "I need to hear you say it," she recalled telling him. It worked. "I’m sorry I molested you," he told her.
Armed with evidence, she called the police and on April 12, 2018, he was arrested and indicted on 50 counts of rape of a victim under the age of 10. While 45 of those counts would later be dropped, the five remaining were still enough to see him get life in prison. She says her hope now is to be an advocate for others who have gone experienced something similar. "Do not give up. It doesn’t matter if no one believes you in this moment," she said. "You know your truth. It has to come out eventually. It will come out eventually."