Rapist gets 7-year term for attack on Toledoan

9/22/2006

Na'kia Witcher was sentenced yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to seven years in prison for the sexual assault of a woman nearly five years ago.

Witcher, who attacked a woman in the same neighborhood a year ago, was convicted in August of rape and kidnapping in the January, 2002, sexual assault of the 26-year-old victim in the 5300 block of Glenridge Drive.

She was one of nine to 12 women sexually assaulted or raped from August, 1997, to 2002 in the South Toledo neighborhood.

Judge Charles Wittenberg said the defendant burglarized the woman's home, wrapped her in a blanket after a struggle, and then raped her.

The victim has yet to overcome the terror of the attack even through the crime happened nearly five years ago, Judge Wittenberg said.

"It is a very serious situation. Her life has been changed drastically because of this," he said.

Also troubling to Judge Wittenberg was that Witcher was awaiting sentencing for misdemeanor negligent assault in Toledo Municipal Court when the assault occurred.

Witcher, of 116 Floyd St., was classified as a sexual predator, a sex offender status that calls for him to register his address with the sheriff every 90 days for the rest of his life.

The sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to the three years he received in January for stalking and attacking a Toledo woman outside her apartment complex in the 2300 block of Eastgate.

A jury convicted Witcher of abduction in the Sept. 15, 2005, attack on the 41-year-old victim, who was grabbed and slammed to the ground during an encounter with the defendant.