Ohio man gets year for threats, imprisonment

Published 9:57 am Tuesday, May 15, 2018

An Ohio man accused of raping a Winchester woman, threatening her at knife point and threatening her son was sentenced to a year in prison Monday.

The plea agreement for Darvin Johnson, 36, of Akron, Ohio, followed a mediation session last week which resulted in a plea agreement which was approved Monday.

According to the terms, Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree unlawful imprisonment and terroristic threatening for the Sept. 21, 2016, incident.

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Charges of first-degree rape, second-degree robbery and first-degree persistent felony offender were all dismissed.

In felony mediation, the defendant, the victim and their attorneys all appear before a mediator, often a retired judge, who attempts to negotiate a plea agreement between the parties. The judge in the case, though, is not bound to accept the recommendation.

Johnson waived his sentencing hearing and was sentenced immediately to one year for unlawful imprisonment, which is a felony, and terroristic threatening, which is a misdemeanor. The sentences will be served concurrently, and Johnson’s attorney Justin Hoskins said Johnson has already served enough time to serve his sentence.

The victim in the case testified in Clark District Court in May 2017 that she was in a sexual relationship with Johnson. She said Johnson showed up at her home on Sept. 21, 2016, and wanted $100 to get back to Ohio. She said Johnson took a knife from her kitchen and told them to sit on the couch. At one point, she said Johnson threatened her 3-year-old son.

Later, she said Johnson forced her to drive him, at knifepoint, to Central Bank to withdraw $100 for him. When they returned to her home, she said she put her son in his room, and she and Johnson had sex.

“Whatever he wanted, he could have,” the woman said at the time. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to us.”

In a jailhouse interview, Johnson denied having a knife and said the woman wanted him to come to Winchester before he left. He also said she already agreed to give him the money.

“I didn’t rape that woman,” Johnson said in the interview. “I didn’t rob that woman.”

About Fred Petke

Fred Petke is a reporter for The Winchester Sun, the Jessamine Journal and the State Journal. His beats include cops, courts, fire, public records, city and county government and other news. To contact Fred, email fred.petke@bluegrassnewsmedia.com or call 859-759-0051.

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