OTTAWA — A crime story that started 13 years ago has come to an end. Arizona prison inmate Ralph Corey, 53, was sentenced to nearly 34 years in prison for five charges involving the kidnapping and attempted rape of a Williamsburg teenager back in 2000, occurring in Ottawa. He’ll serve the sentences consecutively – one after the other, which lengthens the time he’ll spend behind bars. Franklin County Attorney Stephen Hunting says justice was served. “We’re thankful that the victim and her family hung in their all these years,” Hunting said. We glad that 13 years later we saw some justice brought to this and we’re hopeful this will give her some peace of mind.” The victim gave a statement before the sentencing, saying because of the attack, she’s been haunted ever since and it’s been difficult for her to relate to men. Corey, a former trucker, has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1978, with about 20 felony convictions of various offenses, including at least two sexual assault convictions among them. DNA from Corey was matched to tissue samples that had been stored from the crime by a Kansas Bureau of Investigation cold-case computer program. The first trial for Corey was declared a mistrial after a juror used a smart phone to research information during deliberations.
Wednesday, March 13, noon
