Middletown man sentenced to 16 years for Hamilton rape
A Middletown man was sentenced to prison this week for the rape and kidnapping of a woman in 2019.
Taranpreet Singh, 31, formerly of Village Drive, was found guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court following an October jury trial of rape and kidnapping for assaulting a woman in Hamilton.
The victim testified at trial that she was assaulted on
Sept. 5, 2019, when she was offered a ride from the Circle K on Pleasant Avenue. She said the man, identified as Singh, stopped the vehicle on East Avenue, dragged her by the hair into an abandoned building and raped her.
On Monday, Judge Michael Oster Jr. sentenced Singh to a maximum of 16 years in prison.
During Singh’s trial, prosecutors said he terrorized and raped women after offering them rides in Middletown and Hamilton in 2019 and 2020, and they added that DNA evidence linked him to the three alleged victims.
Singh was found not guilty of crimes involving the two other alleged victims, and charges concerning a fourth alleged victim were dismissed before trial.
The defense said Singh made some bad choices while having marital difficulties and began picking up prostitutes. They pointed to the alleged victims’ past criminal records and, in two cases, that they were slow to report the assaults. One alleged victim was proven to be less than truthful about a previous case, they said.
“These women are prostitutes,” said defense attorney Steve Kilburn during opening statements. “He is ashamed and embarrassed .... Just because Mr. Singh’s DNA was found does not mean he raped anyone.”