Serial rapist gets 23 years for Ohio rape

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GROVE CITY, Ohio, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A 46-year-old man already imprisoned on rape charges will serve 23 years more for raping a woman in Grove City, Ohio, a judge said.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Patrick E. Sheeran added 23 years onto the prison sentence of David S. Hopper, who is serving a 46-year sentence on rape and robbery charges connected with crimes in three states, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch said Wednesday.

Sheeran said Tuesday Hopper's sentence following a guilty plea means the serial rapist will likely die in prison.

"I accepted this plea to these monstrous facts because ... you will not be eligible for release until you are 115," Sheeran said. "In effect, you are going to die in prison."

Hopper pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and rape charges in the rape of a Grove City store clerk Nov. 28, 2003.

The victim, whose identity was not released, was in court Tuesday to confront her attacker, the Dispatch reported.

"I'm the one who has control now," the woman said during her court appearance. "I'm the one with all the freedom while you sit in jail."