Jury can't agree on Upper man's criminal case

UPPER SANDUSKY — The last day of the criminal trial of Scott Dickey has come and gone without a verdict in five of the six criminal charges. The jury found him not guilty on the charge of rape. Dickey, 51, of Upper Sandusky, was charged with rape and is currently charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition, two counts of abduction, and assault, stemming from two incidents with two separate alleged victims. Both incidents occurred in 2024. The state was represented by Wyandot County Prosecutor Eric Figlewicz and Assistant Attorney General Kaitlyn Wilkin. Dickey was represented by Attorney James Mayer and co-counsel Sean Boone of The Mayer Law Firm. During a morning of closing arguments, Wilkin reminded the jury that "everyone agrees that sexual contact occurred," the dispute was whether or not Dickey had received consent in each of the two cases. The state's argument was that he had not, while Dickey's counsel said that he had. Wilkin, in closing arguments Friday, summarized the facts of the case and reminded the jury that both victims were under force or threat of force during the incidents. Mayer, in his closing arguments, said the jury must "know it in their bones," when deciding a verdict. He told the jury that they had two cases in front of them that he believed "rested on an admitted liar and an obvious liar," when speaking of the alleged victims. After almost six hours of deliberation, the jury could not agree on a verdict in five of the six charges. They returned to the courtroom three separate times to ask questions including requesting more copies of jury instruction sheets, a better definition of abduction and to know what would happen if they couldn't come to a conclusion. The judge asked the jury to keep working but by hour five, they could not. The jury was then dismissed. Figlewicz said he could not comment on what could happen in the case, however an Office of the Ohio Public Defender webpage states there are three options: the state could retry the case with a new jury, negotiate a plea bargain or dismiss one or more of the charges. Dickey could still be facing charges in one or both cases.