STRANGER RAPE OF 17 YEAR OLD IN 1995 LINKED TO SUSPECT BY CODIS HIT; DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 8 YEARS

Posted on 9/23/2016

Defendant: Ronald Eugene Grier

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said, “This man held a gun to his 17 year old victim and threatened to kill her prior to raping her.”  Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced that Ronald Eugene Grier, age 41, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to one count of Attempted Rape (F-2).  On July 20, 1995, the 17 year old victim at that time was taking out the trash when she was grabbed from behind at gunpoint by Grier.  Grier, who was 20 years old at that time, forced vaginal intercourse and then fled the scene.  In 2013, as part of the Cold Case Initiative, Columbus Police detectives submitted the victim’s sexual assault exam kit to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.  A DNA profile on the rapist was established and entered into CODIS.  In January 2014 there was a CODIS hit to Ronald Eugene Grier, who was incarcerated in South Carolina.  At the time of the guilty plea on June 27, 2016, Grier faced a maximum sentence of 15 years.  However, since that time the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that defendants must be given the benefit of any changes in the law.  This resulted in the new maximum possible sentence under the law of 8 years under House Bill 86.  Thus today, Grier received the maximum sentence and will be incarcerated for 8 years in prison.