Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Roseville Rapist to Spend Life in Prison
(ZANESVILLE, OH)
On April 30, 2026, Adam Kennedy, 33, of Roseville, appeared before Judge Kelly Cottrill in the Muskingum Court of Common Pleas to admit guilt to several charges that stem from Kennedy raping and sexually assaulting multiple young children whose ages were as young as 5 years old.
The charges involve two separate cases in which three child victims were identified following tips and disclosures at local children advocacy centers.
At the hearing Kennedy admitted guilt to the following charges: Pandering Sexually Oriented Material Involving a Minor, Rape, Two Counts of Gross Sexual Imposition and Importuning.
Kennedy’s phone was forensically analyzed, and multiple images of child sexual abuse were documented.
Some of Kennedy’s acts include forcing one of the children to perform oral sex on him in addition to touching, as well as sexually assaulting the children, and forcing the children to watch pornography videos.
It is mandatory by Ohio Law that Kennedy be ordered to spend the remainder of his life in prison for the Rape charge alone.
“While my office cannot undo what a child rapist has done, we work hard to obtain as much justice as possible based on the facts,” said Prosecutor Welch. “In this case Assistant Prosecutor Michael Hughes was able to obtain a conviction that carries a life sentence, which is the maximum sentence allowed by law in the state of Ohio for this defendant’s heinous crimes. Our community is safer today thanks to the bravery of the young victims and the hard work of law-enforcement, medical personnel, and victim advocates.”
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