Criminal Defense Attorney Brad Koffel has secured a sentence reduction and early release for a former Ohio State diving club coach who was sentenced last year to four years in prison.
As reported by WBNS-10TV, Attorney Brad Koffel reached a deal that would allow William Bohonyi to spend up to six months at a facility for non-violent, felony offenders before being released on probation for up to five years.
Attorney Koffel initially sought an early release for his client after citing concerns over the current threat of COVID-19 in Ohio prisons and Bohonyi’s pre-existing medical conditions, which include asthma, lupus, and celiac disease. Though part of that request was denied, the presiding judge did order that Bohonyi be sent to a state-run alternative facility for additional treatment before being released on probation.
Bohonyi was sentenced to four years in prison in August 2019 after pleading guilty to sexual battery charges stemming from an inappropriate relationship he had with an underage diver while he was an assistant coach for Ohio State’s dive club.
As Attorney Koffel told WBNS-10TV:
“The court did not grant our request that Will Bohonyi be released and placed on probation. Instead, the court took the very measured approach and placed Will into the custody of a secure facility in Cincinnati for more specific intervention that offers more efficacy than him simply being locked in a prison for the next three years. Upon his release from that facility he will under the strict supervision of the sex offender probation department for up to five years.
The goal is to reduce the risk of recidivism and the route the judge took makes the most sense.”