Leesburg man sentenced to 10 years to life for rape

A Leesburg man and local firefighter was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to rape.

As previously reported, Waylon James Stratton, 33, was indicted in March (and again in April, in a superseding indictment) on five counts of rape, all first-degree felonies. The superseding indictment added the stipulation that the alleged conduct occurred in Highland County for counts four and five.

Stratton pleaded guilty May 7 to count one of the indictment, which alleged that during an approximate one-year period between 2019 and 2020, Stratton “did engage in sexual conduct” with a child victim under the age of 13. The plea agreement recommended the prison term of 10 years to life.

After Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss accepted Stratton’s guilty plea, Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins said that the victim was grateful that the case is “being handled this way.

“We do recognize the defendant’s willingness to take responsibility for his actions and not force this victim to go to trial and talk about what happened,” Collins said. “That being said, it’s a very serious offense, and we feel that this plea agreement is appropriate.”

Coss sentenced Stratton to the recommended term of 10 years to life, with jail time credit of 103 days. The remaining four counts in the indictment were dismissed.     

Stratton will be classified as a tier III sex offender, requiring registration every 90 days for life. 

Prior to his arrest, Stratton had worked locally as a firefighter and was licensed as both a firefighter and emergency medical technician. Coss advised Stratton that the licensing board will be notified of his conviction, which “could potentially lead to some sort of action on your license.” 

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