Kristopher Collins Convicted of Rape of a Juvenile

Posted on 12/9/2022

Defendant: Kristopher Collins

Franklin County jury found Kristopher Collins, 29, of Columbus, guilty yesterday of two counts of rape of a juvenile stemming from incidents in the summers of 2013 and 2015. He will be sentenced on Dec. 20, 2022. He faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life on each count.

In October 2019, the victim disclosed Collins raped her in his parent’s apartment in Columbus over a period of four summers between 2012 and 2015. Collins was 18 to 22 at the time of the offenses. The victim’s statement, a forensic interview by the Jefferson County (Steubenville) Children Services, and photos of the incident location helped lead to the arrest of Collins on May 26, 2020.

Collins was charged with four counts of rape, one for each of the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. His conviction yesterday was for the two counts of rape that occurred in 2013 and 2015. He was found not guilty on the 2012 and 2014 charges.

Collins’ trial spanned four days, Dec. 5 through 8. Testimony from the victim, a Jefferson County employee, Columbus Division of Police Detective John Ball, and the victim’s mother helped the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office secure a conviction.

Judge David Cain presided over the trial for Judge Julie Lynch. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Beau Wenger handled the trial phase of the case for the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. During the Dec. 20 sentencing, prosecutors will argue Collins’ sentence should run consecutively for a total sentence of 20 years to life.