MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The trial for a former Waynesville police officer charged with multiple sex crimes began Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
Peyton J. Kocevar, 22, of Centerville was indicted in June 2020 by a Montgomery County grand jury on seven counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition, officials said.
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According to court records, the alleged crimes occurred while Kocevar was a student at Alter High school between 2012 and 2016. Prosecutors allege he raped multiple victims during this time.
In opening statements Monday, assistant prosecuting attorney Bryan Moore said none of the victims filed police reports.
“Amazingly, they all thought to themselves, ‘I thought I was the only one’ until a Tweet went out, and that’s when they did come forward and report what happened. That’s how we got to this point where the twelve of you are here to listen to them,” Moore told jurors.
Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion. told jurors his client didn’t rape the alleged victims.
“This is not a case of rape. This is not a case of gross sexual imposition, this is not a case of a monster attacking six different people. It’s a case of teens going to an apartment, a party on-going, people go into bedrooms, various things happen,” Rion said.
In June 2020, two women reported rapes that were said to have happened at an apartment in Centerville between 2014 and 2016, court records show.
Following the first two reports, six other women reported rapes as well. Those six victims told police the rapes happened in addresses in both Centerville and Kettering between 2012 and 2016.
“I commend and support the many victims who have come forward to disclose incidents where this defendant forced himself upon them.” Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck said in a media release. “I continue to encourage anyone, who has been abused by this defendant, to contact the Centerville Police Department.”
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None of the crimes Kocevar is currently accused of committing happened on Alter High School property, prosecutors previously said. The school previously declined to comment on the case.
Kocevar had been a reserve Waynesville police officer since September 2019, but was terminated on June 26, 2020.
Waynesville Police Chief Gary Copeland previously said the department was made aware by Centerville police of an investigation involving Kocevar. The department immediately removed him from the schedule and Kocevar was not being paid, Copeland said.