COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jurors convicted a man Friday of kidnapping a
5-year-old girl, but acquitted him of a rape charge that could have brought a
mandatory life sentence.
The Franklin County jury deliberated for a week before finding Lindsey
Bruce, 24, guilty of kidnapping. He faces three years to 10 years in prison at
sentencing in November.
Emily Rimel has not been seen since her mother's boyfriend checked on
her as she slept. Bruce, a family friend, had showed up at the apartment in
Madison Township that night in December after going out drinking and asked to
sleep there. In the morning, he and Emily were gone.
The girl is presumed dead, but Bruce was not charged with
murder.
A close match to Emily's DNA was found on Bruce's body. No DNA was
found on her mother or the boyfriend.
The defense had argued that the match _ 1 in 26,000 people would have
similar DNA _ wasn't close enough to convict.
Defense attorney David Young also tried to discredit fellow inmates,
including a convicted rapist, who testified that Bruce confessed to raping and
killing the girl. Bruce took the stand to say he barely talked to the
inmates.
Assistant Prosecutor Ron Welch said the DNA evidence was not as strong
as it would have been with a direct sample from the girl.
"I'm certainly glad that Lindsey Bruce is going to face justice for
some of what he did to Emily Rimel," Welch said.
