HAMILTON — A judge convicted a former Butler County sheriff's deputy of rape and kidnapping Thursday for forcing a Hamilton woman to have oral sex with him during an incident outside a Forest Fair Mall nightclub.

Kirk Kash comforts his wife after the verdict. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        Although found guilty of two first-degree felonies, Kirk Kash, 38, of Colerain Township, was cleared of two other rape charges. Sentencing is set for Sept. 10. Mr. Kash faces six to 20 years in prison.

        “Those who operate under the color of the law are also accountable to the law — and this conviction firmly establishes that,” said Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper.

        On Jan. 18, a 19-year-old Hamilton woman said Mr. Kash caught her having consensual sex in a vehicle with an 18-year-old man.

        Then, under the threat of getting a ticket unless she complied, the woman said Mr. Kash grabbed her neck and forced her to perform oral sex while he was in uniform and working a security job at the Fairfield mall. He resigned from the sheriff's office shortly after her accusations surfaced.

Kash

        Common Pleas Judge Matthew J. Crehan said he dismissed one rape charge because the forced oral sex it alleged was “a continuum of one criminal act.”

        The judge acquitted Mr. Kash of another rape charge because he said there was no clinical evidence to prove Mr. Kash had sexual contact with the 19-year-old woman's genital area.

        In announcing his decision to a packed courtroom, Judge Crehan said he convicted Mr. Kash because other evidence corroborated his accuser's statements on the first rape charge and the kidnapping charge.

        John Winkler, a mall security officer, spotted Mr. Kash's vehicle parked in a secluded location that the victim had described, the judge noted. The woman also described Newport cigarette packs littering the floor of Mr. Kash's vehicle, substantiating that she had been inside it, the judge said.

        Further, a mixture of Mr. Kash's semen and his accuser's DNA were found on his shirttail, the judge said, substantiating the oral sex claim.

        Judge Crehan said: “He was a police officer and she felt she had to do what she was told. ... That's especially true for someone who has been caught in a compromising situation.”

        The woman also indicated she was afraid of the officer's gun. Further, her highly emotional reactions, corroborated by others' testimony, proved she was upset after a forced sexual encounter, the judge said.

        Mr. Piper credited Fairfield police for “pulling together a variety of circumstantial evidence. They uncovered certain things that really made for an absolute conviction.”

        The young woman sat trembling as the judge rendered his decision, flanked by her mother and other supporters. She bit her lip and started to cry as she realized the judge had found Mr. Kash guilty of two charges.

        After the verdict, Mr. Kash's wife, Joanne, gave an emotional hug to her husband, then left with their 2-year-old son. Mr. Kash's lawyers, Jim Cooney and Brad Kraemer, swiftly left the courtroom without commenting.

        Assistant Prosecutor Steve Tolbert said, “Obviously, the judge thought about the case, and I'm very satisfied with the verdict.”

        He congratulated the victim, saying, “Way to hang tough through this whole thing.”

        Assistant Prosecutor Megan Shanahan said the victim's cooperation was essential to the case, and “her honesty came through.”

        The young woman said she understood the judge's rationale for dropping one charge and acquitting on another. She said she was happy Mr. Kash was convicted of the remaining two charges. “I'm just glad he's being put away,” she said.

        When asked what was the hardest thing to endure, the young woman replied: “Being alive and knowing all this happened to me. ... I wanted to leave the country. I wanted to disappear, drop from the face of this earth.”

        Her mother embraced her and later held both her daughter's hands and said, “Praise God it's over! Praise God!”

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