BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio (AP) — A school superintendent charged with child rape for allegedly assaulting a young girl has accepted a plea deal as his trial was set to begin in western Ohio.
The former superintendent for Indian Lake Local Schools entered an Alford plea to a charge of gross sexual imposition on Wednesday in a Logan County courtroom in Bellefontaine. The plea by 52-two-year-old Patrick O’Donnell means he doesn’t admit to the charge but acknowledges there’s enough evidence to convict him.
O’Donnell had pleaded not guilty to charges including rape of a child younger than 13.
A court affidavit said the child alleged O’Donnell touched her inappropriately.
O’Donnell’s attorney says the plea deal was preferable to the possibility of a mandatory life sentence if he had been convicted of the rape charge.