GREENVILLE — A Yorkshire, Ohio, man was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to an amended rape charge Monday in Darke County Common Pleas Court.
Samuel G. Poeppelman, 22, was arrested September 18, 2017, by Darke County deputies at his residence, accused of raping a woman following a September 16 party at the victim’s residence in Greenville. The arrest affidavit states during his interview with deputies that Poeppelman admitted to committing the offense.
Poeppelman was represented in court by defense attorney Kevin Lennen. Darke County Prosecuting Attorney R. Kelly Ormsby and Assistant Prosecutor Deborah Quigley represented the state.
The plea agreement had Poeppelman plead guilty to a lesser charge of attempted rape, a second-degree felony. A second rape charge was dropped.
Darke County Common Pleas Court Judge Jonathan P. Hein sentenced Poeppelman to four years in prison, with credit for six days of jail time.
Poeppelman told the court he was sorry for what he did and that he was “not a bad person.”
“Hopefully I can prove to everyone I’m better when I come out,” he said.
The victim was present in the courtroom but declined to speak.
Lennen asked the court to allow his client some time before being ordered to turn himself in, as he had not been prepared to go straight to the sentencing phase of the case after acceptance of the plea agreement. Hein ordered Poeppelman to turn himself in to the authorities at 8 a.m. Tuesday to begin his prison sentence.
By pleading guilty to a lesser charge, Poeppelman avoided a potential sentence of up to 22 years in prison. Upon release, he will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender for the rest of his life and is subject to five years of post-release supervision.