Ohio
Dear Ohio St Athletics Department
ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio (WSYX) — A $500,000 bond has been set for an Ohio State University student accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
21-year-old Anthony Bokar faces criminal charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, tampering with evidence, and corrupting another with drugs.
Court documents say Bokar purchased and delivered marijuana to the 13-year-old in Franklin County, and prosecutors said the pair started texting on Snapchat.
[Bokar] then made a plan to drive to Nelsonville in Athens, Ohio to pick her up and engage in sexual activity, which he did.
“He drove to her home and picked her up. Then, [he] drove her to the campus at Hocking College, in which he engaged in oral sex as well as vaginally penetrative sex with a 13-year-old girl,” prosecutors said. “He also solicited feet pictures from her in exchange for money.”
Court documents ABC 6 obtained read Bokar instructed the 13-year-old he had been “sexting” to “delete and wipe her phone from all the information they shared.” Prosecutors said in court Thursday that they are still digging through the evidence on his phone.
“We were just informed today that he was soliciting pictures from other juvenile females around the same age: a 13-year-old girl,” prosecutors said.
Bokar’s LinkedIn profile shows he worked as a student teacher at Pickerington Central High School. The district tells ABC 6 they have no record of a personnel file.
His LinkedIn also reads that he worked as a resident assistant in a dorm and as a student engagement leader for OSU’s admissions team. ABC 6 requested a copy of Bokar’s personnel file, and instead, received a statement saying:
“These allegations are extremely concerning. The individual in question has been placed on interim suspension and is not currently allowed on campus or at university engagements, including student teaching assignments. Nothing is more important than the safety of our campus community, and we will assist law enforcement in any way needed. We are unable to comment further given the ongoing investigation.”
ABC 6 spoke with the father of that victim. He said his daughter had to be placed on suicide watch after suffering a mental breakdown at school.
The father says it was then that she revealed the inappropriate relationship to her family.
“You got a little 13-year-old girl who’s in cheerleading — one of the captains of the middle school Buckeyes — and here’s this Buckeye, saying he loves her and giving her drugs and money,” he said. “When she talks, you definitely know she’s a little girl. The verbiage that she uses, the things she talks about are all childish.”
I didn’t protect her.
ABC 6 asked the father how he felt that Bokar was studying to be a teacher. “He was going to be in his playground. It’s how I see it,” he said.
For now, the father said his focus is on getting his daughter counseling to deal with the trauma Bokar allegedly caused.
“To say it loud, and to say it to everyone gives us the power,” he said. “It helps with our healing.”
Bokar’s next court date is February 23rd.
Three quick takes from Ohio State’s 89-82 win against USC.
Ohio State needed this one
USC isn’t ranked, and this won’t be a Quad 1 win for Ohio State’s NET rankings, but this was a critical game for the Buckeyes. After losing to Michigan and dropping to 15-8 overall, Ohio State’s need for wins against quality opponents increased another notch as mid-February approaches.
The Trojans are perched right around where the Buckeyes are in most of the metrics, as well as the Big Ten standings, where they entered the game with identical 7-6 records. Now, Ohio State has the head-to-head tiebreaker when it comes to the conference tournament and, critically, added a quality win to its resume.
“It feels very crucial,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. “It’s a team with similar metrics.”
It also beats the alternative of taking a two-game losing streak to Nashville for a top-20 game against Virginia on Valentine’s Day.
Bruce Thornton was clutch when the Buckeyes needed him
Ohio State’s senior captain passed Kelvin Ransey for fifth place in the program’s all-time scoring annals, and his most important points came down the stretch. Thornton scored Ohio State’s final nine points, finishing with a team-high 21, helping keep USC at arm’s length in the final 1:34.
Seven of those points came from the free-throw line, where Thornton finished the game perfect on 11 attempts. He also dished out eight of Ohio State’s 14 assists, helping the Buckeyes fend off the Trojans in the final minutes as they made a late charge.
Buckeyes made Alijah Arenas work
Ohio State hasn’t made a mark with its defense this season, but the Buckeyes were able to force USC freshman Alijah Arenas to work for his points. He finished with a game-high 25 points, his third straight outing with at least 20 points, but it took him 19 shots to get there.
Arenas was 6 for 19 from the floor and only 1 for 7 from 3-point range, doing most of his damage from the line. He was 12 for 16 at the charity stripe, drawing eight fouls to lead his team. With Chad Baker-Mazara out due to injury, USC leaned more heavily on Arenas, and the Buckeyes were able to force him into challenged shots with regularity.
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
Second US aircraft carrier is being sent to the Middle East, AP source says, as Iran tensions high
Beloved sandcastle artist booted from California beach by luxury hotel after nearly 20 years
Early missteps, delayed search plane response emerge in Savannah Guthrie’s mother disappearance
Rep. Steve Cohen tells Pam Bondi that ‘worst of the worst’ are native-born Americans, not immigrants
AI raises the stakes for national security. Here’s how to get it right
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Second US aircraft carrier is being sent to the Middle East, AP source says, as Iran tensions high
Tim Walz demands federal government ‘pay for what they broke’ after Homan announces Minnesota drawdown
Leaders embrace two-speed Europe as Macron sets June deadline
What the data tells us about kidnapped people — and how Nancy Guthrie is an outlier
House Republican Greg Steube introduces bill to nix controversial H-1B visa program
-
Politics1 week agoWhite House says murder rate plummeted to lowest level since 1900 under Trump administration
-
Alabama6 days agoGeneva’s Kiera Howell, 16, auditions for ‘American Idol’ season 24
-
Politics1 week agoTrump unveils new rendering of sprawling White House ballroom project
-
San Francisco, CA1 week agoExclusive | Super Bowl 2026: Guide to the hottest events, concerts and parties happening in San Francisco
-
Ohio1 week agoOhio town launching treasure hunt for $10K worth of gold, jewelry
-
Culture1 week agoAnnotating the Judge’s Decision in the Case of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-Year-Old Detained by ICE
-
Culture1 week agoIs Emily Brontë’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ Actually the Greatest Love Story of All Time?
-
News1 week agoThe Long Goodbye: A California Couple Self-Deports to Mexico