YOUNGSTOWN - The man labeled a "serial rapist" by Trumbull Co. prosecutors has asked a federal judge to free him from prison while he appeals four life sentences.

Sixty-six-year-old David Honzu, formerly of Warren, filed the request from the state prison where he’s been since December 2022 after Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald Rice sentenced him on three counts of kidnapping with sexual motivation and two counts of rape.

Judge Rice also declared Honzu a sexually violent predator and a repeat violent offender, which added more years to his prison time.  Under terms of Honzu’s sentence, he wouldn’t be eligible for parole until he is 140 years old.

The conviction stems from two incidents, the first of which was a rape that occurred in 2007. Prosecutors say they linked Honzu to that case through DNA evidence.

Prosecutors say the second incident took place in 2022 when a woman told police she managed to escape after Honzu forced his way into a woman’s car at a Mahoning County car wash and pulled a knife. Honzu was arrested the following day.

Honzu has gone back to the Eleventh District Court of Appeals, which previously rejected his challenge of his conviction, claiming there was insufficient evidence and that his lawyer failed to properly investigate the evidence and didn’t cross-examine the victim about testimony that Honzu claims were inconsistent.

In addition, Honzu argues that prosecutors should not have been permitted to use evidence gathered from his cell phone which he says was seized improperly.

Honzu is also challenging the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision not to hear his case because his appeal reached the court one day after a deadline had passed.

In 2016 Honzu was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of attempted abduction.

Prosecutors have yet to respond to Honzu’s federal court filing.