Diaz
A jury has found a Bowling Green man guilty of rape.
The three-day trial ended Friday in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Molly Mack with a guilty verdict for Kenton Dias, 22.
He was taken to jail to await sentencing on June 4. Bond was set at $200,000.
Diaz was indicted in October for rape, a first-degree felony.
On Jan. 28, 2022, he was accused of engaging in sexual conduct by purposely compelling a woman to submit by force or threat of force.
The rape charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years and up to 16.5 years, plus registration as a Tier III sex offender, which will require Diaz to register every 90 days for life.
The state had offered to amend the charge to gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony.
This charge has a discretionary prison term of six-18 months with a Tier I sexual offender classification, which requires annual registration for 15 years.
Diaz rejected that offer.
Mack in November ruled for the defense, prohibiting the state from introducing two alleged sexual misconduct complaints against Diaz.
The case against Diaz involved a delayed report of sexual assault. The reason for the delay was that the victim originally did not intend to report the assault until she discovered Diaz was a registered sex offender.
In April, Diaz’s attorney, David Klucas, submitted a motion asking the court to not allow the victim to testify about what he argued was an unverified website.
“This is not unverified. Mr. Diaz is a verified sex offender,” said Wood County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Boos.
Diaz was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor on July 27, 2021, and registered as a Tier I sex offender.
“It would be unfair to her to not allow her to explain herself,” Boos said.
Mack ruled that if was Klucas’ trial strategy was to not highlight the witness’s testimony regarding seeing the Diaz on a sex offender website, she would refrain from giving the jury limited instruction.
