Ohio motel manager sentenced in attacks on employees

XENIA, Ohio (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former Ohio motel manager found guilty of rape and other charges involving employees to six years in prison.

Hitesh Patel, 42, was sentenced Wednesday by a judge in Xenia.

A jury found Patel guilty on Sept. 29 of rape, abduction, gross sexual imposition and five misdemeanor charges of sexual imposition. The counts involved employees of a motel in Fairborn that Patel managed at the time.

The Dayton Daily News reports Patel could have received up to 16 1/2 years.

Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion plans to appeal, claiming a juror communicated with a police detective. The court denied a motion for a mistrial.