Jury selection for a former Marysville police officer accused of propositioning and molesting girls ages 12 to 19 is to begin today in Perry County Court, despite attempts by the former officer's attorney to have the trial moved.
President Judge Kathy A. Morrow said she was not convinced the media coverage in the case involving Robert J. Pavlovich Jr., 40, of Lower Allen Twp., has been "inherently prejudicial."
"The court believes defendant has not shown that he is unable to impanel a fair and impartial jury from residents of Perry County," Morrow wrote last week in a two-page opinion.
Pavlovich's trial is to begin Wednesday and last for three days.
Morrow said that the judge presiding over the jury selection -- Senior Judge C. Joseph Rehkamp -- will have the final say over whether the trial should be moved. That would happen if it is demonstrated that potential jurors cannot be impartial during interviews today, Morrow said.
The test for moving the trial is whether the publicity regarding the case has been "sensational, inflammatory or slanted towards conviction rather than factual and objective," Morrow said.
Pavlovich was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with minors, sexual assault and 21 other counts from between July 2002 and March 2003.
Morrow refused a request by Pavlovich's attorney, P. Richard Wagner, to throw out eight of the 24 charges against his client, including one involving a girl who claims she blacked out at a drinking party and didn't remember anything sexual occurring with Pavlovich.
In September 2006, Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot asked the state attorney general's office to investigate complaints about Pavlovich, who worked in Marysville from 2001 to 2007, records state.
Pavlovich was arrested in October 2007 and was fired by Marysville the next month. He is free on $250,000 bail.
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