Kennedy Wheeler, the man suspected of sexually assaulting at least six Univeristy District residents since May, was arraigned Friday on a charge of rape.
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.
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Janet Grubb waived Wheeler’s obligation to appear at arraignment but said evidence presented by the prosecution was “substantial” and set the preliminary hearing for Friday to determine whether the 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.
While public defender Max Sutton established that no victim has positively identified the defendant, Grubb ruled that Wheeler should be held without bond.
She said Wheeler’s police record indicated a risk of serious physical harm to the community if Wheeler is let out on bail. In 1985, he was convicted of attempted rape in Cuyahoga County and spent seven years in prison.
Before Friday’s 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 Wednesday 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 Jan. 13 in Dublin.
After being released from prison in 1993, Wheeler was taken in by Diversified Community Services, a halfway house on the east side of Columbus.
Impressed with the progress of Wheeler’s rehabilitation, DCS hired him as a case manager — a role which required him to help other sexual predators trying to assimilate into society after serving prison sentences. Wheeler counseled 10 felons before leaving his position at DCS in April 2001, a year before the OSU-area rapes began.
According to local media, those who worked with Wheeler said they never suspected he would relapse.
