Carlisle man sentenced to life in prison
He was convicted of sex crimes related to years of incidents with young girls.
A Carlisle WARREN COUNTY — man has been found guilty of sexually abusing young girls for years and was given a life prison sentence.
Ronald Rowland, 69, of Judy Drive in Carlisle, was found guilty Thursday night by a Warren County jury of eight counts of rape, one of a child under the age of 13, and two counts of gross sexual imposition. The guilty verdicts involved crimes against two of three girls who testified.
The jury did not convict on charges pertaining to the youngest girl, who testified about alleged abuse beginning at age 6 as well as seven other charges involving the other victims.
Rowland was indicted on 12 counts of rape and six counts of gross sexual imposition in May 2018 following a police investigation that began in March 2018.
The crimes occurred between 2009 and 2017 in both Carlisle and Franklin, according to investigators. One of the rape charges involving the oldest victim was dismissed Tuesday by Warren County Common Pleas Judge Donald Oda II after the prosecution rested its case because evidence was not presented at trial to support the charge.
Rowland was immediately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 56 years.
During two days of testimony, Rowland and all three alleged victims testified. The retired Dayton native testified the girls were not telling the truth about the abuse.
“That’s a lie,” he said when asked by the defense about each allegation.
Rowland said there was an ongoing conflict with the parents of two of the victims before the allegations were made.
“It’s hurtful,” Rowland said about the allegations.
Defense attorney Tamara Sack asked Rowland questions about treatment of erectile dysfunction and other problems with his genitalia, pointing out the victims did not say anything about the distinctive look of Rowland’s penis.
Sack asked urologist Dr. David Miller about his treatment of Rowland, which began in 1999. The doctor said at times Rowland had conditions that would have made intercourse difficult or painful. The doctor said he also gave prescriptions to Rowland for medication to aid with erectile dysfunction.
The oldest victim, now 19, sobbed as she recounted abuse she allegedly suffered for five years.
The teen said Rowland told her when she was 12 years old, “Let me be your teacher,” then touched her genitalia.
“He said he wanted to show me certain sexual things so I could be prepared when I was in a relationship,” the teen said.
The abuse continued for five years in a swimming pool, a shed and in the residence, progressing to vaginal penetration, the teen said. She said she never told anyone.
Eventually, the teen said she told Rowland “it had to stop” and told him if he stopped, she wouldn’t tell anyone.
After discovering there were other alleged victims, the teen agreed to make a police-recorded call to Rowland to try to get a confession.
The teen told Rowland in the call about the other teen girl alleging he sexually touched her. When Rowland denied any wrongdoing, the teen said she didn’t believe him “because of what you did to me.”
“Why did you touch me?” the teen asked Rowland.
“It sounds like you want me to confess to something, I am not going to do that,” he said on the call, which was played for the jury on Tuesday.
Sisters, one now 11 and the other 18, testified that they were also sexually abused by Rowland.
The 18-year-old girl told the jury her genitalia and breast were touched by Rowland three times, beginning when she was 9 and Rowland took her in the shed. She said he squeezed her breast after reaching under her shirt.
“I just remember being confused about what happened,” the teen said.