Two Camden brothers accused of raping the same young girl are now both asking Preble County courts to decide whether they are even mentally fit to stand trial. David Rader, 51, and Frankie Rader, 48, were indicted on rape charges last month, and in the weeks since, attorneys for both men have filed for competency evaluations.
A Preble County court will determine if the two brothers accused of child sex abuse are able to stand trial, according to Dayton Daily News. Preble County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sean Brinkman said Frankie Rader and David Rader are accused of abusing the same girl, and a grand jury indicted David Rader on two counts of rape and Frankie Rader on four counts of rape.
Attorneys Seek Competency Evaluations
Frankie Rader is seeking a competency evaluation.
David Rader’s attorney, James Vanzant, requested a competency evaluation earlier this month, stating David Rader seems unable to fully understand his charges. David Rader reportedly said he could not read discovery documents and would need the information read aloud to him. According to the same report, David Rader will have a competency evaluation hearing on Nov. 18, while Frankie Rader’s hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Allegations Span More Than a Decade and Two Children
David Rader and Frankie Rader are accused of raping a girl beginning in January 2011, with the abuse reportedly continuing through December 2016. Camden police began investigating in September. The girl told investigators that two people sexually assaulted her about 70 times.
The girl said the abuse began with David Rader and another person touching her shoulder and rubbing her arms, and that the two later held her down to prevent her from running away, per the same account. Two of Frankie Rader’s four charges stem from a separate allegation involving a boy, abused from April 2001 through April 2008, when the boy was as young as 6; the article notes his two remaining charges stem from the same case as David Rader. Brinkman could not confirm whether Frankie Rader’s name was redacted from municipal court documents.
David Rader Was Previously Found Incompetent in Earlier Case
This is not the first time competency has entered a Rader case. David Rader previously faced gross sexual imposition charges in a separate matter, and that case was dismissed after he was found incompetent and unable to have his competency restored in time for trial, Dayton Daily News reported. A separate, earlier Dayton Daily News report said an evaluator determined David Rader was not competent to stand trial and unlikely to have competency restored in time for a trial, and noted that a judge had approved an evaluation and scheduled a related hearing.
Other outlets have covered pieces of the case as it moved through the system. Dayton 24/7 Now reported that both men’s indictments were filed on Oct. 5 and that warrants for their arrests were served on Oct. 6, identifying Frankie Rader as 48. The Register-Herald, however, reported Frankie Allen Rader was 49 when he was indicted on four counts of rape, all first-degree felonies.
What Ohio Law Requires to Determine Competency
Under Ohio law, a court must find a defendant incompetent if, by a preponderance of the evidence and because of the defendant’s present mental condition, the defendant cannot understand the nature and objective of the proceedings or assist in his own defense, according to Ohio Revised Code Section 2945.37. That standard is now at the center of what happens next for both Rader brothers, with David Rader’s hearing set for Nov. 18 and no date yet set for Frankie Rader.
