BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BATAVIA -- A mistrial was declared in the rape trial of Withamsville chiropractor Nicholas Driever Thursday night when the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
The jury in Clermont County Common Pleas Court had been charged with deciding if he raped a patient during an examination.
Before closing arguments, the jury heard prosecution testimony from three women who said Dr. Driever also had touched them improperly, one going back to the 1980s.
Dr. Driever, who is serving as his own attorney, rested his case Thursday morning after questioning 12 supporting witnesses, among them former colleagues, current patients and his wife.
He denied allegations made by a 22-year-old Owensville woman who testified she was startled when he touched her genitals during muscle-reflex treatment in the pubic region.
Dr. Driever remains in Clermont County Jail on $500,000 bond, pending a bond hearing today.
Prosecutor Greg Chapman in his closing argument focused on the legal definition of rape and force, and "the absolutely unrebutted testimony" of the victim. He told the seven-man, five-woman jury that the accusation meets the law's requirement for a rape charge. He noted that Dr. Driever admitted while questioning his own witnesses that he puts pressure on women's backs during muscle-reflex treatments in the pubic area, and that the accuser was prone.
The Cincinnati Enquirer is not publishing her name because of the nature of the charges.
