A father and son charged with shackling a young girl in the basement of their Noble Street home were indicted Thursday for sexually assaulting the victim.
A Lucas County grand jury indicted Timothy Ciboro, 53, on five counts of rape and Esten Ciboro, 28, on three counts of rape. Both men are being held in the Lucas County jail on $1.15 million bonds for multiple counts of endangering children and kidnapping.
“The allegations of sexual abuse have unveiled a new layer in this investigation,” said Robert Miller, chief of the special units division for the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office.
The three counts against Esten and three of the counts against his father allege they sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 13 between Jan. 1, 2012 and December of 2015. If convicted, they would face a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 10 years.
The two additional counts against Timothy allege he raped a girl under the age of 10 during the same time period. Because of the victim’s age, those counts carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jennifer Reed, an assistant prosecutor who handles child sexual assault cases, said children are not always forthcoming about abuse until they are away from their abusers and begin to feel safe.
The Ciboros allegedly kept Timothy’s stepdaughter shackled by her ankle for varying periods between Jan. 1, 2012 and May 18, 2016. The allegations came to light in May after the young victim managed to uncuff herself with a spare key and run away after the suspects both went for a jog in a park, according to Toledo police.
The girl, who has been in foster care with her two siblings since the Ciboros’ arrest, was discovered on the night of her escape by a woman who called police when she saw the girl walking along Water Street carrying several bags and looking like a runaway.
Once inside, the girl told the woman that her mother had left her and the two other children, whose father is Timothy Ciboro, and went to Las Vegas. She then told the woman her dad had taken her in but she had run away “because she gets in trouble for wetting the bed,” for which he “puts handcuffs on her ankles” and “makes her sleep in the basement.”
During her basement captivity, the girl said she was “fed spoiled and old scraps of food and forced to defecate and void in a bucket containing ammonia,” according to court documents.
In jailhouse interviews shortly after his arrest, Timothy denied the girl had been mistreated, professed his deep religious faith, and said he was fearful of being in jail.
In separate court hearings last week, Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Linda Jennings reluctantly granted motions from both Ciboros to serve as their own attorneys even though neither has any legal education or experience. She explained the pitfalls of proceeding without trained legal counsel and questioned both of them at length about their mental health, education, and knowledge of the law.
She set a trial in their cases for Oct. 31 and appointed attorney Merle Dech to serve as standby counsel for Timothy and attorney Stephen Hartman to serve as standby counsel for Esten. Mr. Hartman filed a motion this week asking to withdraw from the case, saying family members of Esten who hired him “are not willing or able” to retain him since Esten declined his representation.
Mr. Miller said both men now will be arraigned on the new charges, and a similar hearing likely will be held to determine whether they will accept court-appointed attorneys or if they still intend to represent themselves.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.
First Published September 30, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
