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Coronavirus: Man serving life sentence for Butler County child rape dies in prison

Posted at 2:13 PM, Apr 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-16 22:49:23-04

BUTLER COUNTY — A man serving a life sentence for child rape committed in Butler County has died in prison with a probable cause of the coronavirus, according to officials.

James Woodward, 70, of Bethel, Ohio, is one of three to die at Pickaway Correctional Intuition, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday.

Woodward was convicted in 2011 following a jury trial of rape and gross sexual imposition of a child under the age of 10, according to Butler County Court records.

The crimes were committed between January and March 2010 in Hamilton. The late Butler County Common Pleas Judge Craig Hedric sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 19 years.

His convictions were appealed and upheld by the 12th District Court of Appeals.

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