High School Essay Assignment Leads Police To Man Who Sexually Assaulted Three Sisters

A class essay assignment on overcoming adversity had a powerful outcome for one Ohio high school student: a 20-year sentence for her rapist.

Anthony Knight, 43, pleaded guilty to felony rape charges and was sentenced last week, but the arrest may never have happened if it wasn't for a school assignment.

Detective Sgt. Kenneth Arp said Knight's crimes were brought to the attention of the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office after a student at Vanguard Tech Center had written about being sexually abused as a child after being instructed to write about overcoming an obstacle in life for a class essay, according to WTOL.

After reading the paper, officials at the school contacted the sheriff's office and Children's Services, who started an investigation.

The victim's sisters, who were also abused, were able to corroborate the victim's story. Detectives said the three girls were sexually assaulted over multiple years and in various ways. The abuse began as early as 7 years old, the news station reports.

Although the abuse had occurred years before, Arp told the Freemont News-Messenger the siblings had initially been reluctant to pursue a case because they had not come forward in the past.

The exact relationship between Knight and the victims is unknown, however, WTOL reported that they were "family."

Arp credits the bravery of the young high school student and the school's cooperation with getting the conviction.

“I think that these types of things happen a lot more often than what the average person might think that it does,” he told WTOL. “I think that if you talk to different investigators around the area they will tell you that they work a lot of sexual assault cases similar to this. This one happens to have a positive outcome and unfortunately a lot don’t, but I think it sends a great message.”

[Photo: Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office]