EATON — A Dayton man was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of rape in Preble County Common Pleas Court Wednesday. Judge Stephen R. Bruns presided.
Terry Owens, 51, was indicted in March 2019; the offense allegedly took place on or about Sept. 30, 2018, according to court documents. Owens pled guilty in March 2020. A second charge of aggravated burglary was dismissed in accordance with a plea agreement between Owens and the Preble County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The alleged victim in the case claimed to have been assaulted by Owens following a social gathering at her home.
“We had a get-together with a small group of friends,” the victim read in a prepared statement before sentence was handed down. “Terry was the last to show up, and he was already intoxicated. All night he followed me around, making me feel creepy.”
The victim went to bed early following the gathering and later awoke to find herself being sexually assaulted, according to her statement.
“I woke up to Terry Owens on top of me, raping me,” she said. “I was in shock, and terrified. Terry took advantage of my boyfriend and I, and our friendship.”
The victim also stressed the humiliation of the incident, and the distance it created between herself and her loved ones.
“The police came and took me to the hospital in front of my neighbors. It was embarrassing and humiliating,” she read. “I told my mom I never thought a friend would do something like that. I sometimes wish I had the strength to end my life.”
“It’ll be two years since the incident in December of this year,” she concluded. “And I feel like I have aged 10 years in that time.”
“This is a heinous offense in any circumstances,” Judge Bruns said before sentencing the defendant. “Mr. Owens lived half a century without any serious criminal offenses, and doing some good things with his life in that time.”
Also in court Wednesday:
Bradley Monebrake, 32, of Eaton, was arraigned. According to a press statement issued by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Monebrake has been indicted on charges including:
- One count of attempted rape of a victim under the age of 10 with sexually violent predator specification (F-1)
- One count of attempted gross sexual imposition with sexually violent predator specification (F-5)
- One count of possession of criminal tools (F-5)
- Two counts of violation of a protection order (F-5)
- One count of obstruction of official business (M2)
- One count of voyeurism (M3)
If convicted, Monebrake could face life in prison and lifetime Tier 3 child sex offender registration.
Monebrake previously pleaded guilty to disseminating matter harmful to juveniles in September 2014, an offense for which he was sentenced to 3 years of community control and 90 days of incarceration by former Preble County Common Pleas Judge David Abruzzo.
Monebrake was given the option of performing 200 hours of community service in exchange for 60 of those 90 days being suspended, and was also ordered to undergo a sex offender evaluation at that time.
Defense attorney Steven Van Zant entered a plea of not guilty to the current charges on his client’s behalf. Prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office recommended Monebrake be held on $250,000 bond, citing the fact that he had recently committed a second offense shortly after being released on his own recognizance for the first.
Monebrake’s next court appearance is a pre-trial conference, to be held June 18.
