Jury convicts Trotwood man in Miami Twp. rape, burglary case

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom jury box. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom jury box. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

A jury Wednesday night reached a guilty verdict on all counts accusing him of entering a woman’s Miami Twp. apartment in September 2022 and raping her at gunpoint.

Ronald Terrance Spells, 56, of Trotwood was convicted as charged of rape, attempted rape and aggravated burglary following a trial that began Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. The jury returned its verdict around 8 p.m., according to Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan.

Ronald Spells

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Spells is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 16.

Miami Twp. police were called around 7:20 a.m. Sept. 16, 2022, to a report of a forcible rape at the Miamisburg by the Mall apartments off Lyons Road.

A woman told officers she was asleep in an upstairs bedroom “when she was awoken (sic) to a man pulling down her pants. The man was standing next to the bed wearing a mask and brandishing a handgun,” an affidavit filed in Miamisburg Municipal Court stated.

The man threatened to kill the woman before sexually assaulting her, according to the document.

The man left and entered the apartment using a rear sliding glass door. It was not clear whether the door was locked, but there was no sign of forced entry, the affidavit stated.

The woman was taken to a local hospital for a sexual assault examination, which collected genetic material from her assailant.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined that DNA from the woman’s exam matched Spells, according to the affidavit.

During an interview with detectives, Spells denied the assault, court documents stated.

Spells remains held in the Montgomery County Jail awaiting his sentencing.

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