Man pleads guilty to 4 counts of rape in WSU sexual assault case

Credit: Greene County Jail

Credit: Greene County Jail

A Fairborn man was sentenced to prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to four counts of rape in connection to a Wright State University sexual assault case.

Zachary John Turner, 29, was sentenced in Greene County Common Pleas Court to 14 to 19½ years in prison, Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes announced.

Turner was enrolled as a Wright State student when, in October 2020, he forcibly raped three women while he lived in an on-campus apartment. All three victims said Turner used restraints and made threats with a knife during the sexual assaults, the prosecutor said. A fourth victim later came forward and also reported that Turner used restraints during a sexual assault. The women were not WSU students.

As part of his plea, abduction and kidnapping charges were dismissed, records show.

Turner previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was ordered to be evaluated by the court.

Turner will be required to serve a mandatory 14 years in prison. Once he is released, he will be on five years of supervision.

He also was designated a Tier III sex offender, meaning that he will be required to register his address every 90 days with his local sheriff’s office for the rest of his life.

“It took a great deal of courage for these victims to come forward, and Turner would not be going to prison were it not for that courage,” Hayes stated.

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