WARREN - The appeal of a former Warren police officer convicted of rape in 2024 has been denied.

Forty-five-year-old Michael Edwards Jr. is serving a sentence of 34 to 39 years in prison on several charges, including four counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of sexual battery and two counts of rape, all with firearm specifications, as well as two counts each of theft in office, extortion and dereliction of duty.

According to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office, Edwards appealed his sentence, filing a motion to declare a mistrial because the defense rendered its closing arguments in the late afternoon when the jury was showing signs of fatigue.

However, the Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals found this claim to be without merit, stating that there was "ample evidence of actual force and/or threat of force to support each conviction."

"Having a deadly weapon under one's control, isolating the victims in their rooms, taking off their clothes, forcing them in position, et cetera, is sufficient to the element of force and threat of force," said Appeals Court Judge Matt Lynch.

Other claims made by Edwards in his appeal included that none of the victims ever testified that they believed physical force would be used if they didn't submit, that the judge erred by denying a motion to severance of charges, that the trial court did not properly instruct the jury on answering a question about whether an act is rape if the victim says sex was consensual and non-threatening and that Edwards was denied a fair trial due to the cumulative errors.

All of these claims were found to be without merit.

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