William D. Bounds - Repeat Sex Offender - Loses appeal

Bounds committed similar offenses against elderly women in Massachusetts and Maryland.

The first happened in Massachusetts when he was 18.

Less than 24 hours after his release, he committed the crime in Maryland.

Assistant Prosecutor Bambi Couch-Page said Bounds received 21 years of sex offender treatment while in prison.

A three-judge panel rejected William D. Bounds' appeal of a 38-year prison sentence for raping a 70-year-old blind woman in an apartment unit for disabled seniors.

Bounds, 50, who was previously a resident of 264 Greenlawn Ave., is at Lebanon Correctional Institution. He was convicted in Richland County Common Pleas Court on two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of burglary. Judge James DeWeese handed Bounds the maximum sentence after a two-day trial.

The incident occurred Dec. 19, 2007, at an apartment complex on West Second Street. The victim was wrapping Christmas presents at her kitchen table when Bounds entered her apartment, grabbed her from behind, stuck a knife in front of her throat and assaulted her.

Appeals court documents said the rapist told the victim afterward he would return. He also forced her to check outside the door to make sure no one was there before he left.

"We find it reasonable that the jury would have believed the testimony and evidence presented by the state," Judge W. Scott Gwin wrote.

After Bounds left the hysterical victim called her son and was advised to call 9-1-1 while he came to the apartment.

Police identified Bounds as a suspect after reviewing surveillance tapes from a security camera at the building, and after interviewing another resident who said Bounds had been in the building that night, drinking a couple of beers with him.

Court records show police learned Bounds was a registered sex offender, whose previous convictions involved the rape or attempted rape of older women.

The legally blind victim identified Bounds from a lineup of photos blown up large enough for her to see them. Prosecutors also used DNA evidence.

In his appeal, Bounds argued charges should have been dismissed because his right to a speedy trial was infringed upon because the trial, originally set for March 2008, was delayed. He also contended he followed the 70-year-old to her apartment, where she agreed to have sex, and argued prosecutors never presented enough convincing evidence to warrant a conviction.

In a Sept. 10 ruling a Fifth District Court of Appeals panel said the delay, caused by the trial judge's vacation, was not long enough to be unreasonable.

The appeals panel also said prosecutors countered Bounds' consensual sex claim with testimony from police officers, a rape crisis nurse, a forensic chemist and the victim.

Bounds committed similar offenses against elderly women in Massachusetts and Maryland. The first happened in Massachusetts when he was 18. Less than 24 hours after his release, he committed the crime in Maryland.

Assistant Prosecutor Bambi Couch-Page said Bounds received 21 years of sex offender treatment while in prison.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte