Wednesday, June 6th, 2012
Convict accused of violating bond with vacation
By Shelley Grieshop
ST. MARYS - A former eye doctor convicted of sexual assault could face new charges after allegedly violating court terms by vacationing out of state last month.
A motion for the arrest of Douglas Wine was filed late Monday in Auglaize County court after two witnesses told sheriff's deputies they saw and spoke to him in mid-May at Jamestown Resort and Marina - a vacation spot in the Lake Cumberland region of Kentucky.
Wine, 52, was sentenced in December to 15 months in prison but was freed on bond in February by Third District Court of Appeals judges while the Auglaize County case is being reviewed. Terms of the $150,000 bond prohibit Wine from leaving Ohio. Auglaize County Prosecutor Ed Pierce had objected to the prison release.
The motion to arrest Wine and revoke his bond was filed by Pierce and sent to the appeals judges in Lima. Court administrator Greg Miller said Wine's attorney, Loren Zaner, will have two weeks to respond in writing to the motion. The appeals court judges will then take the matter under advisement before making a written ruling, he said. The high court can deny or grant Pierce's motion or remand it back to Auglaize County Common Pleas Court for consideration, Miller said.
No public hearings on the matter will be held, he added.
According to court documents, a Circleville orthodontist on May 15 told an Auglaize County sheriff's deputy that Wine was at Lake Cumberland, but he had not personally seen him. The deputy later spoke to two witnesses who claimed they individually had spoken to Wine in person at the marina in Kentucky on May 10, 11 and 19. One of the witnesses told the officer that Wine's son and the boy's friend were with Wine on May 19.
When contacted Tuesday, Zaner had not yet seen the motion and opted not to comment.
Wine in October was found guilty of gross sexual imposition - not the original indictment charge of rape - at the conclusion of a four-day trial in Auglaize County. He subsequently was labeled a Tier 1 sexual predator. He denied the allegations of the 69-year-old female relative who claimed he had assaulted her in his St. Marys home in 2009.
The appeals case filed by Zaner in February is based on eight alleged assignments of error. Among other things, it claims that statements Wine made during a privately-administered polygraph should not have been used as evidence at trial, and his trial attorney, Ritchie Hollenbaugh, provided inefficient counsel.
Zaner and Pierce argued the points and others during a hearing at the Lima court three weeks ago. The appeals judges are not expected to rule on the matter for several weeks.
Wine also was indicted by a grand jury in July for six counts related to an alleged rape and molestation of a girl younger than 13. The charges carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. Pierce in January dismissed those charges based on evidence "as it now exists."
Two months ago the Ohio State Board of Optometry revoked Wine's optometry license based on his felony conviction. He formerly operated businesses in St. Marys and Oakwood.
