MANSFIELD – A 37-year-old Mansfield man was indicted by the Richland County Grand Jury this month on charges regarding the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Ricky Ray Branam was indicted on two charges of rape, two charges of furnishing alcohol to an underage person, two charges of contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child, sexual battery, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, attempted sexual battery, attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and corrupting another with drugs.
According to First Assistant Prosecutor Cliff Murphy, the alleged incidents that prompted the charges occurred on two separate occasions, one on Oct. 4 and one on Oct. 12, 2016. All of the charges are related to one victim.
Rape is a first-degree felony, which carries an 11-year sentence; corrupting another with drugs is a second-degree felony carrying an eight-year sentence; sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor are third-degree felonies that carry a five-year sentence.
When asked how much time Branam could potentially serve, Murphy answered, “Lots.” However, due to the absence of a preliminary hearing for Branam, Murphy was unable to provide many more details to the case.
“It’s been indicted, but the difficulty is as prosecutors we’re not allowed to discuss the facts of the case outside the courtroom,” Murphy explained. “One reason is if somehow a jury would have knowledge of the case, and claim that what was provided was somehow misleading or unfair to the person who did all these mean, crappy things to this child.”
A second case of rape was indicted by the Grand Jury this month with 31-year-old Danny Lee Holmes, who was charged with rape and two charges of domestic violence.
“One alleges that the victim was pregnant, the other alleges that it was a second domestic violence offense,” Murphy said.
All charges relate to one adult female victim. The alleged incident occurred on Sept. 1 at 2169 Cloverdale Drive in Mansfield.
According to Murphy, Holmes has had one preliminary hearing on Oct. 20. The charge of rape is a first-degree felony, which carries up to 11 years in prison. The two domestic violence charges are presented in two different ways.
“One is a fourth-degree felony in that alleges because he has a prior domestic violence conviction, punishable up to 18 months in prison,” Murphy said. “The second is a fifth-degree felony of domestic violence, and it’s an automatic felony because the victim was pregnant at the time this occurred.”
