The man suspected of sexually assaulting at least six Ohio State students since May was arraigned today on a charge of rape.
Kennedy Wheeler, 41, is accused of a Jan. 6 rape that occurred in the area of Olentangy River and Ackerman roads, on Columbus’ North Side, and is suspected of six sexual assaults in the OSU area that happened last summer.
Judge Janet Grubb waived Wheeler’s obligation to appear at arraignment, but said evidence presented by the prosecution was “substantial” and set the defendant’s preliminary hearing for Jan. 24 to determine whether his case should go to trial.
Detective Eric Wooten, lead investigator in the case, told assistant prosecuting attorney Angela Canepa that DNA taken from Wheeler’s saliva was found to match a sample taken from the scene of the Jan. 6 assault.
Wheeler’s public defender, Max Sutton, established that no victim has positively identified the defendant, but Grubb ruled that Wheeler should be held without bond. She said the defendant’s police record indicates he poses “a risk of serious physical harm to the community” if let out on bail. Wheeler served seven years in prison for attempted rape before being paroled in 1993.
Before the procedure, Grubb reprimanded Sutton for intentionally blocking the court’s view of Wheeler during his arraignment Wednesday and warned him that she would not tolerate it any longer.
Wheeler was arraigned previously on charges of drug possession and receiving stolen property. On Jan. 3, he was caught on surveillance video using a stolen bank card that had been taken during a rape and burglary earlier that day, leading investigators to suspect him in the broader series of rapes. Wheeler was apprehended Monday in Dublin.
