Hillsboro man sentenced on rape, gross sexual imposition charges

A Hillsboro man was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years in prison Wednesday afternoon after pleading guilty to two sex offenses against minors in Highland County.

As previously reported, Clayton T. Collins, 26, was indicted by a Highland County grand jury in February and charged with one count of rape, a first-degree felony; and one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony.

The indictment included two separate minor victims, with charges for alleged “sexual conduct” and for alleged “sexual contact.” The allegations in the case began in 2014 and continued through part of 2022.  

The case was presented to a grand jury by a special prosecutor, Kara Keating of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutor William Walton appeared on behalf of the Ohio AG’s Office for the plea hearing Wednesday.

Represented by attorney Jeffery Blosser, Collins pleaded guilty to both charges in the indictment Wednesday in Highland County Common Pleas Court.

Prior to accepting the pleas, Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss explained Collins’ rights as well as potential sentences. The plea agreement recommended the mandatory sentence of 15 years to life for the rape charge, to be served concurrently to the GSI sentence.

Coss also reviewed the allegations in the case, with the rape charge stipulating that the victim was less than 13 and less than 10 years of age, and the gross sexual imposition charge including the stipulation that the victim was under the age of 13.

After Collins indicated that he was willing to proceed, Coss accepted both guilty pleas to the charges in the indictment.

The judge heard from the mothers of both victims before proceeding with sentencing. One mother sobbed as she spoke of the “deep psychological wounds” her child has suffered.

“I hope you get back what you did to the [victims] and then some,” she told Collins.

The other mother addressed Collins, calling him a “coward,” “a menace to society” and a “sick and perverted monster.”

“It’s time you be held accountable,” she said.

Collins declined to speak, although his attorney, Blosser, said it has been a “very difficult case for everyone involved” and asked the judge to “follow the joint recommendation” for sentencing.

Coss told Collins he thought that “if you took a poll of the citizens of Highland County,” most of them would “say you should be put to death” for the charges.

“That’s not a possible penalty under the law,” Coss said. “We’re faced with two options, life without parole or 15 years to life.”

The judge said that he would accept the recommendation of 15 years to life for the rape charge, taking into consideration that by Collins pleading guilty, the victims would not have to testify at trial.

“That’s a very traumatic experience,” Coss said. “I also have a little comfort that it is at least 15 years — could be life. The nature of these offenses, I would certainly think that would be on the table.”

Due to the rape conviction, Collins will be classified as a tier III sex offender, requiring registration every 90 days for life. In the event he is released from prison, he will also be placed under post-release control for five years.

However, Coss also imposed a separate four-year sentence for the gross sexual imposition charge, to be served consecutively to the rape sentence. The judge said that while he accepted the recommendation for the rape sentence, he was “not going to follow” the recommendation for the GSI sentence to run concurrently.

“To do so would mean that offense meant nothing,” Coss said. “There’s two separate victims, two courses of conduct.”

It was also noted that Collins is currently serving a prison term for a separate case in Highland County. As previously reported, he was sentenced to three years of community control in September 2021, after pleading guilty to a third-degree felony charge of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. A year later, community control was revoked for an alleged supervision violation, and Judge Coss sentenced Collins to 18 months in prison, according to court records. His expected release date in that case is Aug. 9, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction site says.

Collins had no jail time credit in the rape/GSI case. He was also ordered to pay court costs.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released the following comment on Collins' case Thursday:

“Within the filth of this crime, there is a reminder for all parents – talk to your children, watch their behaviors and contact law enforcement if something seems off,” Yost said. “As for this monster, Highland County is undoubtedly safer now that he is behind bars.”