DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — A Harrisburg man was found guilty of the rape of an unconscious person and kidnapping following a trial on Thursday, according to the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office.
On Jan. 27, Ronald Jenkins, 48, was convicted of the above charges by a jury of his peers after two hours of deliberations.
In February 2017, a 27-year-old woman told Swatara Township Police she had woken up in a motel, naked from the waist down, and she had no idea how she'd gotten there.
The victim said the last memory she had was being at her home in Lower Paxton Township with her husband, and Jenkins - a family friend.
During their investigation, police discovered Jenkins had attacked the victim after her husband went to bed.
The jury heard from the victim how Jenkins struck her in the face and then slammed her into a wall hard enough to leave a hole.
When detectives pulled surveillance video from the motel, they saw Jenkins carrying the unconscious woman over his shoulder and into a room.
Police listened in on telephone calls between Jenkins and the victim's husband where Jenkins repeatedly claimed nothing had happened in the motel with the victim.
During the trial, the jury also heard Jenkins proclaiming his innocence to police, with a lawyer present, in a taped interview.
In 2018, detectives got the results of DNA evidence from the PSP DNA Laboratory. The results showed DNA from the victim's rape kit matched Jenkins' DNA profile, officials said.
Jenkins was taken into custody in New Jersey in 2019.
The prosecuting attorney said they intend to get a mandatory minimum sentence for Jenkins of at least ten years in prison. He faces the mandatory minimum because of a previous felony conviction.
Jenkins' sentencing is scheduled for Mar. 31.
