VIENNA TWP., Ohio - A former dance instructor in Vienna Township was sentenced in court on sex charges Monday morning.

According to prosecutors, 20-year-old Katilyn Wilkes was handed a concurrent three to four-and-a-half-year prison sentence on five counts of gross sexual imposition and six counts of sexual battery on Monday. 

She must also register as a Tier 3 sex offender for the rest of her life and cannot hold any position of authority.

Originally, Wilkes was charged 12 counts of rape. She was found not guilty on six of them and the jury was undecided on the other six. According to prosecutors, the six counts of sexual battery were part of a plea deal to resolve these undecided charges.

Prosecutors recommended a much harsher sentence of 10 to 13 years, but Judge Cynthia Wescott-Rice handed down a lighter sentence of three to 4.5 years.

The charges stem from sex crimes against a 12-year-old student of Wilkes that took place between December of 2021 and February of 2022. The two were originally classmates before Wilkes became an instructor at age 18.

She was secretly indicted on these charges in 2022.

Prosecutors previously told 21 News that Wilkes admitted to these sexual acts adding that she "knew it was wrong." 

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