Tale of Two Cities: Elderly Cincinnati woman raped, Col. Springs woman defends

A 17-year-old Over-the-Rhine boy who is being prosecuted as an adult on a charge that he beat and raped his literacy tutor has been found competent to stand trial.

Next week, Wilkins is scheduled for a hearing where a trial date will be set unless he enters a plea. Wilkins is charged with rape and felonious assault in connection with a March 7 attack against a 57-year-old woman in a basement classroom of the Y.W.C.A. of Butler County, in Hamilton. Even veteran police investigators are shocked by the incident in which they described the victim as having been "pummelled" by her assailant.

Police said the teen came behind her, choked then beat her before he sexually assaulted her. The woman suffered a broken nose, broken jaw and scratches in addition to the rape.

Wilkins had 17 juvenile court cases against him, with 12 findings of delinquency including three for assault and three for domestic violence, the report said. In one case, he attempted to have sex with an adult female while she slept, Dunsieth's report said.

Meanwhile, in a state that allows its law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense, a different outcome resulted when this elderly Colorado woman's home was invaded by a suspected rapist:

The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO

After a 72-year-old grandmother heard noises in the back yard of her Colorado Springs, Colo., home late one night, she called out to ask who was there, then grabbed her gun. Seconds later, an intruder slammed into the bolted back door, but the feisty woman was ready with her.38-cal. revolver. Four shots sent the man fleeing to a car, but police quickly caught up with him after he allegedly caused two hit-and-run accidents. He was later investigated in connection with two rapes that occurred in the same area. The elderly victim later reflected, "What would I have done if I hadn't had my gun? I would have been just another statistic."

• Could the lifting of Ohio's unconstitutional ban on carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense have saved this Hamilton rape victim?

Contact information for the area's elected officials is provided below:

State House of Representatives
• Rep. Gregory Jolivette (R-54)
Phone: (614) 644-6721
Fax: (614) 644-9494

State Senate
• Sen. Scott Nein (R-4)
Phone: (614) 466-8072
Fax: (614) 466-8072

Click here to read the entire story in the Cincinnati Enquirer.