John Whisonant

John whisonant case

Horrific Crimes Against Children

After seeing a video about child molestation at school, the ten-year-old daughter of John Whisonant became upset. On February 11, 1985, she went to her teacher and advised her that her father had been molesting her. Authorities were called and arrived at the school a short time later.

The young girl told law enforcement what her father had done to her in graphic detail and also demonstrated sex acts with dolls provided by children’s services. It was obvious she had been raped.

Police and children’s services then spoke to John Whisonant’s other children: three girls ages 4, 6, and 7, and a boy age 8. We have the case file, which includes the statements made to authorities, however we will not discuss what was said in detail to protect the victims. We can tell you that the acts Whisonant committed against his own children are horrific and disgusting. Every one of his five children was sexually assaulted over a period of several years.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins states in a letter to the parole board that Whisonant “repeatedly raped his own children (both male and female), aged 4 to 9 (five of them) and committed vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse and digital penetration on them, and three of the girls were found to have healing lacerations and/or tears of the introitus [the entrance or opening of the vagina].”

Conviction and a Confession

Whisonant denied his crimes, forcing the case to go to trial. Four of his five children had to testify against their own father in open court. The prosecutor dropped the rape charge against the four-year-old girl due to her young age and to prevent her from going through the ordeal of testifying.

Based on the testimony of the children, a jury found Whisonant guilty of all five charges. He received three 7-25 year sentences for three of the rape charges. Those sentences were to run consecutively (back to back). He received an additional 7-25 years for the fourth rape charge and an additional two years for the gross sexual imposition charge. Those sentences were to run concurrently (at the same time) to the three rape charges. Whisonant was sentenced to a total of 21-75 years in prison.

Although Whisonant originally denied his crimes, years later, he openly admitted to the horrific acts he committed against his own children. In two letters written to his children and their foster parents, Whisonant states, “I have done wrong to them all and I have been forgiven by God and I will accept all punishment that I will receive because he is watching over me….” Prosecutor Watkins states, “If he accepts all punishment, that means seventy-five years. If he [Whisonant] is in God’s hands and in the prison’s care, then this textbook pedophile will not rape a child again.”

No Parole

We have been advised that some of Mr. Whisonant’s children have forgiven their father and we respect their decision. That being said, we believe that forgiveness does not equate with parole. Mr. Whisonant’s actions were so deplorable and egregious that, had he committed his crimes under current sentencing guidelines, he would have been sentenced to life without parole. It is obvious from reading the case file that Mr. Whisonant presents a clear and present danger to society, especially to young children. Releasing him at any point would pose an enormous risk to the community.

Prosector Dennis Watkins states, “John Whisonant has no legitimate standing to be paroled. He repeatedly committed, in serial fashion, the worst form of the crime of rape upon his own, who he was duty bound to raise on God’s earth. To say this offender is a danger to society is an understatement. Though he may have conned his way with the victims, it is my belief and hope that he will never be able to con his way out of prison and prey on any child again.”

We completely agree with Prosecutor Watkins and urge The Ohio Parole Board to give John Whisonant the maximum continuance of ten years before his next parole hearing.