He was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of gross sexual imposition and one count of kidnapping. He was acquitted of a second gross sexual imposition charge.
Turpin remained silent after the verdict was read, according to the courts.
His sentencing will be scheduled during a short hearing March 9.
UPDATE @ 10:43 p.m. (Feb. 27): A jury was continuing to deliberate the guilt of innocence of a registered sex offender who admitted to watching an 8-year-old girl alone in his apartment, but denied sexually assaulting her.
Craig Turpin, 46, is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of kidnapping. The incidents were said to have occurred between Nov. 16, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013, when he lived in the same apartment complex as his accuser on Norman Avenue.
Turpin testified Friday, telling a Montgomery County Common Pleas jury he often watched the girl and her two brothers during that time their mother was away. He also admitted he occasionally watched the alleged victim alone at times.
He said he never sexually assaulted her, which is why he said Dayton police were unable to find his DNA on the victim’s underwear or at the crime scene.
“I’m not saying she’s lying, but she either has to be lying, or has me confused with someone else, because I never touched (her),” Turpin said.
Defense attorney Lucas Wilder also presented testimony from a nurse, Sarah Kramer, who said she tested Turpin for sexually-transmitted diseases when he was booked into the county jail. He tested positive for Nongonococcal Urethriti, or NGU, she said. The victim does not have the STD.
During cross-examination by county assistant prosecutor Justin Sheridan, Kramer testified it was possible for someone to not contract NGU if fluids were not exchanged.
UPDATE @ 10:30 a.m. (Feb. 27): Defendant Craig Turpin testified. Closing arguments are expected later this morning, and the jury may get the case. We have a reporter in the courtroom, and we'll bring you the latest information as this story develops.
FIRST REPORT (Feb. 24)
A registered sex offender molested and raped an 8-year-old girl when her mother was at work and he threatened her to stay quiet, a prosecutor told a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court jury on Tuesday.
Craig E. Turpin, 46, is on trial on two counts of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of kidnapping from events prosecutors said happened between Nov. 16, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013, when he lived in the same apartment complex as his accuser.
Prosecutor Justin Sheridan on Tuesday told a jury of six men and six women that the girl has nightmares and flashbacks, and that her detailed account would prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“You’ll hear about the anxiety rush in her body every time she had to walk by that defendant’s apartment,” Sheridan said during opening statements about the man known as “Cowboy” by the alleged victim’s family.
Sheridan also said evidence would show Turpin gave the alleged victims’ brothers money to go to the store so he could be alone with her and that Turpin “destroyed the innocence of her body.”
Defense attorney Lucas Wilder told the jury that they would have too many questions to justify a guilty verdict after hearing the evidence.
Wilder said that no medical or DNA evidence would tie his client to the 8-year-old girl, that the girl’s mother didn’t like Turpin and that Turpin had chlamydia when he was booked into the jail but that the girl tested negative for that sexually transmitted disease.
Wilder said the medical professionals will just parrot what the girl said happened and that he would challenge police tactics and the chain of custody of evidence. Wilder said that his client gave investigators access to search his West Norman Avenue apartment and phone.
“Basically, Mr. Turpin made himself an open book for the police, and that the end of the day, there’s just the testimony of the victim,” Wilder told the jury. “You’re not going to be firmly convinced that Craig Turpin did any of this stuff to this girl and we ask that you render a verdict of not guilty.”
Turpin has been a registered sex offender with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. He was convicted of a sex offense in 2000 involving a 17-year-old girl, police have said. He has twice been convicted of failure to register as a sex offender.
Turpin has been incarcerated for more than two years in this case. The trial in Judge Michael Krumholtz’s courtroom is expected to last all week.
About the Author