Convicted Ohio Rapist Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting Memphis Girl

April 29, 2022 – A man on the Sex Offender Registry for a rape in Ohio was convicted here Thursday of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at her aunt’s home in the Oakhaven area, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Criminal Court jury convicted Rico Reed, 41, on a felony count of aggravated sexual battery. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month and is being held in the Shelby County Jail.

The incident occurred on Oct. 11, 2020, at a residence on Oak Shade Cove where the girl was visiting her aunt. She said she was asleep on a sofa when she was awakened by Reed who was fondling her.

The young girl told him to stop, and immediately texted her mother about what had happened. An older female cousin said the victim came into her room crying that evening and that when she asked what was wrong her young cousin showed her the text messages between her and her mother about the sexual assault.

Reed, a family friend from Toledo, Ohio, was convicted there of raping a 22-year-old woman in 2007 after forcing his way into her home. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The case this week was prosecuted by Asst. Dist. Attys. Dru Carpenter and Rob Steele.

ADA Carpenter is with the District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit (SVU) which prosecutes cases of rape, child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse of child victims, elder abuse and vulnerable adult abuse. The SVU was created as an expansion of the multi-agency Child Protection Investigative Team or CPIT.

ADA Steele is with the DA’s Vertical Team 4 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 12 and in Criminal Court Division 4.