A deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office was arrested Tuesday morning on 32 charges of rape in Ross County, the department said in a statement.
Deputy Charles Davis, a 51-year veteran of the police force, has been on administrative leave since September 2023 when the department learned of the investigation, the statement said. Davis faces 58 charges, including the rape charges and 26 counts of aggravated sexual harassment.
Gross sexual imposition is a fourth-degree felony in Ohio in which the perpetrator engages in sexual contact with another person against the victim’s will. The Ohio Revised Code identifies sexual conduct as vaginal or anal intercourse or oral sex. Sexual contact is identified as “any touching of an erogenous zone of another,” including a woman’s thigh, buttocks, genitals, or breasts for sexual gratification.
The sheriff’s office would not comment on the criminal case, saying an internal investigation is underway.
According to court documents, the crimes occurred between March 2020 and October 2022 and many of the crimes involved a victim under the age of 13. Court documents do not indicate whether he committed the crimes while on the job.
The indictment contains 16 counts in which Davis is accused of sexual conduct with a child under 13, and 16 counts of sexual conduct with force or threat of force. The indictment also contains 12 counts of sexual contact with a child under 13 and 12 counts of sexual contact with force or threat of force.
Davis is scheduled to appear in court on August 26 for a preliminary hearing.
bagallion@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles Davis Accused of Rape
