The Hamilton County Prosecutor's office is asking potential additional victims to come forward after indicting a man for multiple rapes, kidnapping and aggravated robbery Friday.
According to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters, 30-year-old Adonas Hicks has been charged with raping three people at gunpoint between September and November 2020. Both victims from the attacks in November were transgender, and Hicks may have hoped they would not report the attacks to police, according to Deters.
A news release stated the first victim was attacked Sept. 7 as she was walking home in Mt. Airy. Officials said Hicks approached the woman and took her to an isolated area, where he raped her at gunpoint.
Officials said Hicks raped his second victim at gunpoint just over a month later on Nov. 8, also in Mt. Airy. Five days later, on Nov. 13, Hicks raped his third known victim at gunpoint in Westwood.
"It's one of the most horrifying crimes that we deal with," said Amy Clausing, public information officer for the prosecutor's office. "The nightmare scenario of walking home, and something like this happening to you -- it's the worst of the worst of what we see."
Prosecutors said Hicks knew his second and third victims through the internet.
"Not really sure exactly of how they met online," Clausing said. "I do know that they were online acquaintances, but when they met in person this is what happened."
Deters said he is concerned more people may have been targeted by Hicks and encourages other potential victims to come forward. Any potential victims are encouraged to contact Cincinnati Police Department personal crimes Detective Dana Jones at (513) 352-6474.
“The circumstances and victims involved in these cases are varied, but Hicks’ M.O. remained the same," Deters wrote. "Each time, these victims were raped at gunpoint while in a vulnerable situation.”
Hicks stands charged with six counts of rape, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of felonious assault and one count of kidnapping. He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted on all charges.
Clausing believes all could have been crimes of opportunity, "patterned behavior" that targeted multiple vulnerable people.
"The night they came upon him, they were in vulnerable positions," she said. "That's our concern."
Hicks is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on bond. He is set to appear in court Feb. 18 at 9 a.m.
WCPO is running a mugshot in this story because officials believe there could be additional victims. It is important to show the public what this person looks like so others could determine if they were a victim of the same person. View our updated mugshot guidelines.
