A Kent man charged with sexually assaulting two male Kent State students was denied his request for new council at his pretrial Friday morning.

Giovanni D. Levy, of 1605 South Water St., Apt. 10, is charged with one count each of rape and aggravated burglary, both first-degree felonies, and two counts of sexual imposition, a first-degree misdemeanor.

In a Portage County Common Pleas Court, Judge Laurie Pittman denied Levy’s request for new defense but allowed him to sign a time waiver, postponing his trial to the court’s next docket in December.

Levy, 29, said he was not informed enough to enter a decision on a plea deal offered to him by Stephen Michniak, assistant Portage County prosecutor.

“I did not have an opportunity to go over this case at all,” Levy told Pittman, adding that although his defense visited him in the Portage County jail twice this week, he remained uninformed.

Pittman assured Levy he is well represented after denying his request.

“There’s no reason to,” she said. “You have excellent council.”

Michniak’s offer would require Levy to plead guilty to the charges of rape and aggravated burglary and would drop the other two charges as well as the possibility of another charge.

He would have to serve ten years in prison under this offer, but Levy’s defense assured him he would likely serve 22 if he rejected it.

Pittman said the offer will remain open until his next pretrial in December.

The alleged rape happened on Aug. 21 in the 200 block of East College Avenue, according to police reports. The victim was unable to resist due to impairment.

The sexual imposition charges stem from an alleged incident on Sept. 3 in the 500 block of South Lincoln Street where Levy reportedly sexually assaulted a male twice.

Levy plead not guilty at his arraignment in September and was placed on a $3 million cash surety bond.

After being convicted in 2006 on a sexual assault crime, Levy was registered as a sexual oriented offender on the Portage County Sheriff’s Office sex offender registry website. That victim was also male.

According to court records, he was convicted again earlier this year after he moved and failed to register his address with police.

See previous coverage here.

Contact Taylor Rogers at [email protected].