CLEVELAND — Bond has been continued at $50,000 for 32-year-old Kyle Carthens of Cleveland Heights as he appeared before a Cleveland judge Monday morning with a request to represent himself in court as he faces multiple charges, including rape.
During the brief court hearing the judge said he wasn’t going to decide in that moment whether or not Carthens would be permitted to represent himself as more conversations need to be held first.
“Since I can’t develop enough information now to make an informed decision on that question, I’m going to ask your lawyer to enter a plea for you, which I assume will be not guilty,” the judge said.
Upon entering the not guilty plea, the case was then assigned to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Ashley Kilbane with a pretrial hearing set for Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 9 a.m.
The hearing comes one month after Carthens was arrested when a woman told police she had gone to Spa West for a massage where he allegedly touched her inappropriately several times. She was taken to the hospital for a sexual assault examination.
Carthens has been fired from his job at Spa West.
Last month, Westlake police had asked anybody who may have been victimized by Carthens or could have information in the case, to call their detective bureau at 440-871-3311.