Trial begins this morning for man accused of sex with girls

Trial begins this morning for man accused of sex with girls

October 15, 2008

Lauren Pack

HAMILTON — The trial of a New Miami man facing 16 felony counts of having sex with girls began with jury selection this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 15, in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Noah Powers' courtroom.

Kenneth Lee Ashcraft, 41, was arrested in July by Hamilton police and charged with three counts of rape and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for allegedly having sex with girls between 1989 and 2004. The alleged sexual relationships began when the girls were 11 and 12, according to detectives and the girls who testified at a preliminary hearing in Hamilton Municipal Court.

In Aug. 20, the grand jury returned 11 counts of rape, four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and one count of felonious sexual penetration against Ashcraft.

Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Jennifer McElfresh said the indictments involved five girls, one of which is a family member. The alleged victims ranged in age from 7 to 15. McElfresh said she believes there are more victims who have not come forward.

During a preliminary hearing on July 16, two women, now 31 and 27, testified about a sexual relationship with "Kenny" that began when they were girls.

In the summer of 1993, one of the women said she met Ashcraft at a residence on Buckeye Street where he rented a room from a friend's mother.

"We hung out. He had a paper route and I helped him deliver papers," she said. A week into the friendship, Ashcraft 27, asked the then 11-year-old to be his "girlfriend." The relationship soon became sexual, she said.

The second woman testified she met Ashcraft in the summer of 1989. At age 14, she had Ashcraft's son, now a teenager.

"I have been waiting for this for years," said the mother of the first woman to testify against Ashcraft.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lpack@coxohio.com.