Columbus man found guilty on multiple counts for raping a juvenile girl
A Columbus man is facing a possible sentence of 20 years to life in prison for raping an underaged girl multiple times.
Kristopher Collins, 29, was found guilty by a Franklin County Common Pleas Court jury Thursday of two counts of rape of a juvenile. His conviction stems from two incidents during the summers of 2013 and 2015, the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office said in a release Friday.
Child sexual assault and abuse: They're more common than many Ohioans think
In October 2019, Collins' victim—under 13 but older than 10—reported that he raped her in his parent’s Columbus apartment during the summers between 2012 and 2015, according to the prosecutor's office. Collins was 18 to 22 at the time.
Collins was arrested in May 2020 and was originally charged with four counts of rape, one for each of the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The victim and her mother testified during the trial, which began Monday and ended Thursday. Visiting Judge David Cain presided over the trial for Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Julie Lynch.
Franklin County sees shorter average sentences for sexual assaults on children
Collins was convicted on the two counts of rape that occurred in 2013 and 2015. He was found not guilty on the 2012 and 2014 charges.
Collins will be sentenced on Dec. 20. He faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life on each count. The prosecutors' office said Friday it will argue Collins’ sentence should run consecutively for a total sentence of 20 years to life.
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
shendrix@dispatch.com
@sheridan120
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man could face 20 yrs to life in prison for raping a juvenile
