Follow-Up: Concord Rape Suspect Takes His Own Life Before Jury Trial Starts

CONCORD, NH — A man from Concord, facing several sexual assault charges from two separate incidents during the last 29 years, was found dead on city conservation land on Wednesday.

The body of John Wilkinson, 61, with a last known address of Hoit Road in Concord, was found dead of a gunshot wound in the Sky Hawk Field, off Locke Road, a former sod farm, which is now used flying remote-control airplanes and recreating.

Police were called to the area around 11:45 a.m. after receiving two reports of a man's body in the field from an airplane pilot and a man walking his dogs. The body, according to reports, was covered in blood. Police later found a handgun near Wilkinson’s body. Concord firefighters confirmed he was dead around 12:15 p.m. The state medical examiner investigated around 1 p.m. and confirmed the cause of death.

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• Concord Sexual Assault Case Leads To Incident From 27 Years Ago
• Concord Man Charged With Sexual Assault, Violation Of Privacy

It is unknown exactly when Wilkinson took his own life or how long he was at Sky Hawk Field. Like all suicide cases, Concord police offered no comment about the incident on Friday. Wilkinson, a master electrician who worked for a company in Auburn, also left his work truck at the property entrance.

Active Sexual Assault Charges

At the time of his death, Wilkinson was facing eight sexual assault charges from two different incidents.

The charges include a felony aggravated felonious sexual assault charges-concealment/surprise from an incident in October 2017 in Concord. Seven other charges occurred in Hopkinton in May and June 1993: two aggravated felonious sexual assault charges-concealment/surprise, felonious sexual assault-penetration-victim 13 to 15, and three felonious sexual assault-victim under 13 charges, all felonies, and a misdemeanor sexual charge.

According to Merrimack County Superior Court records, both cases were heading to trial. A final pretrial hearing was held on Feb. 28, and on March 22, attorneys requested jurors' questionnaires in the case of the 2017 incident.

With the 1993 incidents, a final pretrial hearing was also held on Feb. 28.

Bathroom Video Recordings Lead To Charges

Back in July 2018, Concord police began investigating sexual assault and seven violation of privacy claims against Wilkinson after an incident at his Hoit Road home.

A victim claimed he was video recording girls inside a bathroom of his home while they were visiting his family and swimming in a pool. Police, during a search, seized digital storage media and other evidence and, during the course of several months, built a case against him, and he was arrested in June 2019.

Detectives, at the time, reported finding "multiple incriminating videos and photos" from his digital devices.

In November 2019, he was convicted of sexual assault and violation of privacy.

During the course of the investigation, detectives learned of another possible assault incident in the 1990s but did not have much to do on — the first name of a victim, that the incident occurred at a waterfront summer property, and that there were possible witnesses.

Publication of the sexual assault and violation of privacy arrest on Patch led to an informant coming forward to police about the 1990s incident.

It took detectives about six months to find the victim, who said she had seen the press coverage of his arrest. She later agreed to a forensic interview. The victim, who was 13 at the time, accused Wilkinson of grabbing and sexually assaulting her while a number of kids were swimming at Rolf Pond in Contoocook in 1993.

After speaking to other witnesses, one revealed that Wilkinson was “excited” when speaking about sexually assaulting the girl, something the witness found disgusting.

Detectives continued to work the case and uncovered more allegations against Wilkinson.

Wilkinson was also arrested on criminal threatening, reckless conduct-deadly weapon, and handguns; carrying without a license charges in Barnstead in November 2016. Those charges were nolle prossed in January 2017.

Wilkinson was convicted later of a separate criminal threatening charge in February 2017.

To speak with an advocate, call the statewide domestic violence hotline at 1-866-644-3574 or the statewide sexual assault hotline at 1-800-277-5570, or to find the crisis center nearest you, visit the New Hampshire Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence website, linked here.

A free, 24/7, confidential service can provide people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, or those around them, with support, information, and local resources. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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