A former city mayor has admitted to the rape of a four-year-old girl but claims she was a ‘willing participant’ who initiated sex, press reports have said.
Richard Keenan, who served as mayor of Hubbard, Ohio, in 2010 and 2011, faces multiple counts of rape and attempted rape of a child.
He confessed to members of his family and a social worker that he was guilty of abuse over a three-year period, but claims his four-year-old victim ‘initiated sex’, the British Metro newspaper said.
His admissions were made during group discussions at a hospital. He later checked himself into a psychiatric clinic because he was suicidal.
A judge must now decide if Keenan’s confessions are admissible in court.
Keenan is due to stand trial in April next year.