Transgender Child Rapist Shane Newton Found Dead in Ohio Prison

GIRARD, OH. (THECOUNT) — Shane Newton, 35, who was convicted in Trumbull County in 2023 of raping a 9-year-old girl and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, has died while incarcerated, according to the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.

The prosecutor’s office said Newton died in prison, but no cause of death was immediately released. Officials also did not disclose the date or location of Newton’s death.

A Trumbull County jury convicted Newton in June 2023 following a three-day trial and approximately eight hours of deliberations. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on one count of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition. The panel found Newton not guilty on a second rape charge.

Evidence presented at trial showed the victim was sexually abused at a Belle Street residence in Warren between March and June 2021, when she was 9 years old. At the time of trial, the child was 11 years old and living in Texas with her paternal grandmother.

Assistant Prosecutor Diane Barber presented testimony from five witnesses, including the victim. Representatives from Trumbull County Children Services and the Children’s Advocacy Center in Boardman also testified regarding interviews and examinations conducted during the investigation. A nurse practitioner from the Children’s Advocacy Center testified that a physical examination revealed positive evidence consistent with sexual abuse.

Newton testified in his own defense and denied the allegations.

At the time of trial, Newton, then 32, was reported to be transitioning to a female. Following the guilty verdicts, Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Andrew D. Logan sentenced Newton to an aggregate prison term of 25 years to life. The gross sexual imposition convictions each carried potential five-year prison terms.

In February 2024, the Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals affirmed Newton’s convictions and sentence. Newton argued the trial court denied a fair trial by refusing to provide a transcript of the victim’s grand jury testimony and claimed trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to renew the request.

In a decision authored by Judge Matt Lynch and joined by Judges Mary Jane Trapp and Robert Patton, the appellate court rejected each assignment of error and found Newton’s claims to be without merit.

Under the sentence imposed by the trial court, Newton would not have been eligible for parole until 2047.

The circumstances surrounding Newton’s death remain unavailable pending the release of additional information by prison officials.

Girard is located in northeastern Ohio, near Youngstown and the Pennsylvania border.

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