Husband accused of raping teens pleads out, sentenced on lesser charges

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A Whitewater Township man accused of raping teens who prosecutors say were lured to his home by his now ex-wife has entered into a plea deal and was sentenced Monday on lesser charges.

Anthony Philpot, 36, will spend just under two years in prison after pleading guilty last month to three counts of gross sexual imposition and all other charges were dismissed: three counts of rape and one count of kidnapping.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Branch sentenced Philpot Monday to a total of three years in prison.

He received credit for just over a year, 368 days, that he’s already served in the county jail since he was indicted in June 2021.

On Monday, the judge declared Philpot a Tier 1 sex offender, which will require him to register his home address in his residing county once he is released for 15 years.

Prosecutors had requested 4.5 years in prison.

“It will proportionally punish (Philpot) for his crimes of sexually exploiting vulnerable young women brought into his home under false pretenses,” prosecutors wrote in the state’s sentencing memo to the court.

Philpot’s attorney requested community control, noting that he “already has spent more than one year in custody awaiting the conclusion of this matter during which he has lost his mother.”

His now ex-wife, Shana Philpot, 24, is still charged with two counts of complicity to rape and one count of complicity to kidnapping.

Her jury trial is set for Sept. 6.

The couple’s indictment was based on three separate teenage victims between 2016 and 2019, according to a court document called “State’s Sentencing Memorandum.”

Shana used Facebook to convince two of the teens to come to the couple’s home for photo shoots, according to another court record called “Bill of Particulars.”

That’s where prosecutors say her husband committed the rapes.

He also was accused of giving two of the victims alcohol and/or marijuana and the sex acts occurred while at least two of them were sleeping, court records show.

The kidnapping-related charges stem from the couple driving one of the victims in their van from their home to a Kroger store off Ohio 128 and U.S. 50.

During the ride, the victim “jumped from their moving van in order to escape,” the “Bill of Particulars” alleges. “Anthony and Shana stopped the van and forcibly removed her to their vehicle against her will, where she remained until they arrived at Kroger at S.R. 128 and U.S. 50.”

This all came to light when Boone County authorities alerted Hamilton County investigators after a victim tried to file a rape report in February 2021.

Boone County detectives determined the offense occurred in Hamilton County, and there were “multiple victims who want to come forward and file complaints,” a sheriff’s report states.

Shana’s bond originally was set at $250,000, but it was reduced by Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Jennifer Branch at her attorney’s request in December 2021 to $30,000, court records show.

Shana was released after the required 10% of that bond was posted, $3,000 on Dec. 17, 2021, a copy of the bond entry states.

The judge ordered her not to have any contact with her husband, the three victims and “any person who spoke to police.”

The Hamilton County Prosecutors’ Office tells FOX19 NOW Shana’s plea deal should be completed by the end of the June.

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