Former WSU instructor sentenced to prison in child rape case

GREENE COUNTY — A former Wright State University instructor has learned how long he’ll be in prison for charges including child rape.

Jonathan Varhola, 43, was charged with child rape and gross sexual imposition in 2019 and he pleaded no contest one count of child rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition last week. Monday, Varhola was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, according to Greene County Common Pleas Court records.

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Three years of the sentence are mandatory and Varhola will have to register as a Tier III sex offender every 90 days for the rest of his life, according to court records.

As News Center 7 previously reported, Fairborn Police Department began an investigation in late 2018 into possible sex crimes against young children. As a result of the investigation, Varhola was indicted on multiple counts.

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The crimes were reported to have happened between April 2014 and July 2018 in Fairborn.

During his time at WSU, Varhola presented a paper on college student perceptions of sex offenders at the Midwest Sociological Society conference in Chicago, according to the university’s Spring 2013 Sociology/Anthropology newsletter. Varhola also had plans for a seminar on sex offenders and the law, the newsletter stated.

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