An Akron man has been convicted on charges of rape and kidnapping in connection with an incident last July.
26-year old James Winchester was found guilty of rape and kidnapping Monday according to Summit County Prosecutors.
The charges stem from an incident in the early morning hours of July 17 when Winchester picked up the 17-year-old female victim on Copley Road as she was walking to her grandmother's house.
Winchester and a friend were driving along the road when he offered her a ride home. She declined, but Winchester stopped the car and grabbed the teenager and forced her into his car.
He then took the girl to a nearby abandoned house, where he raped her in front of the SUV. Winchester pushed the girl out of the vehicle on Copley Road and drove off. The teen then walked to her grandmother’s and went to the hospital later that day.
Winchester was identified months later through DNA evidence.
Judge Tom Teodosio will sentence Winchester on August 3.
