Truck Driver Guilty Of Kidnapping, Sexual Assault In Ohio

AKRON, OH — A South Carolina man has been found guilty of kidnapping a woman, sexually assaulting her in Ohio and holding her against her will. Anthony Ingram will be sentenced on February 27, 2019.

Ingram was found guilty by a federal jury in Akron on Friday.

“This case is an example of law enforcement working together to hold accountable a defendant who lured a woman with lies and then assaulted her and held her against her will,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “This man is looking at decades in prison, which is exactly where he belongs.”

In August 2018, while driving through Michigan, Ingram lured a woman into his commercial semi-truck by offering her a ride to Indiana. The ride instead took her in the opposite direction, as Ingram and his truck drove southeast toward Maryland, according to trial testimony.

The woman realized she wasn't heading toward Indiana, and Ingram promised to drop her off after he delivered a shipment of goods to Maryland. He then pulled his truck to the side of the turnpike in Hudson and assaulted the woman while threatening her with a weapon, prosecutors said.

After Ingram returned to the road, the woman convinced him to stop in Lima. She then escaped and called 911 from a nearby restaurant. Beaver Township police met the woman and Ingram sped away, prosecutors said.

GPS records showed Ingram stopped 15 miles from Beaver Township. The FBI and Ohio State Highway Patrol found the woman's clothing and cell phone next to the turnpike, near where Ingram stopped, prosecutors said.

Ingram was investigated by the FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol and Beaver Township Police Department.

Prosecutors originally attempted to bring Ingram to trial in late 2018, but a technical issue caused the trial to be dismissed, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Charges had to be re-filed and a jury then found Ingram guilty.