LISBON — A Wellsville man filed another challenge over his September 2023 rape conviction and life sentence, this time requesting the Seventh District Court to review the dismissal of his request to have his conviction and sentence set aside or vacated.

Spencer Kidder, 72, just lost his request in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court last week, with Judge Megan Bickerton finding there were no substantive grounds for relief. She said no to everything in Kidder’s petition, which included claims of ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and post-judgment, violations related to alleged failure to disclose certain materials such as expert reports, bench notes, worksheets, drafts and methodology materials, confrontation clause and due process violations, improper expert testimony and vouching, alleged newly discovered or newly-appreciated evidence and cumulative error.

Kidder’s appellate attorney Rhys Cartwright-Jones filed the latest appeal to the Seventh District Court of Appeals.

Last year Kidder lost the appeal of his conviction to the Seventh District Court of Appeals and just before the year ended, the Ohio Supreme Court declined jurisdiction to hear his appeal of that decision.

In her ruling, Bickerton wrote that the defendant failed to meet his burden to prove any of his accusations, including newly discovered or newly appreciated evidence supporting relief or an evidentiary hearing.

A jury found Spencer Kidder guilty on Sept. 21, 2023 of four counts of rape, a first-degree felony, two counts of sexual battery, a second-degree felony, and a single count of third-degree felony gross sexual imposition.

The first two rape charges covered the time period when the boy was under 10 years old from Jan 1, 2014 through July 16, 2018, with the other two rape charges covering the time after age 10 and under age 13 from July 17, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2020. The time period for the two counts of sexual battery and single count of gross sexual imposition all covered Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2020.

Bickerton sentenced him immediately to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the first two rapes, to be served concurrently to each other, then 10 years to life for the other two rapes to be served concurrently to each other but consecutive to the life without parole term, then an additional five years for the gross sexual imposition. The sentence for the sexual battery charges was merged as part of the rape sentence.

mgreier@mojonews.com