Piqua woman pleads guilty to sexual battery involving teen

A Piqua woman accused of sexual conduct with a 14-year-old girl pleaded guilty Monday to felony sexual battery in Miami County Common Pleas Court.

Hannah Wood, 24, initially was indicted on a first-degree felony of rape for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with another through force or threat of force Aug. 27-29 in Piqua.

She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the rape charge. Before Monday’s plea, Judge Jeannine Pratt reviewed competency and sanity evaluations conducted of Wood at the Forensic Psychiatry Center of Western Ohio.

Those evaluations found Wood both competent to stand trial and sane at the time of the alleged offense.

Following those findings, Wood pleaded to a new charge of sexual battery, a third-degree felony, as part of an agreement in which the rape charge was dismissed by prosecutors.

Pratt accepted the plea, ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for May 17. Wood faces up to five years in prison.

She will be classified as a Tier III sex offender. This will require her to register her address with the sheriff’s office in the county where she lives and works every 90 days for the rest of her life.

Wood remains in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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