The potential parole of a Howland man convicted of rape is being opposed by the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutor Dennis Watkins sent a letter to the state parole board arguing against the release of 70-year-old John Whisonant.

Whisonant is being held at the Marion Correctional Facility, serving an aggregate sentence of 15 to 75 years after being convicted of the rape of four family members in 1985.

According to the release, Whisonant was convicted of the rapes of four of his children, three girls and one boy between the ages of five and nine. Another count involving a fifth child, a four-year-old girl, was dismissed so she didn't have to testify at trial.

Sentencing laws in the 1980s were different than present day. Prosecutor Watkins says if Whisonant was convicted of those crimes today, he would face a life sentence, not an aggregate sentence.

Watkins describes Whisonant as a serial rapist and "textbook pedophile."

While in prison, Whisonant has been reprimanded for breaking multiple rules including stealing and assault with a recent write-up happening in November 2024.

"The Whisonant case became the standard bearer for horrific sexual abuse cases in our county," Marcia Tiger, former executive director of the Trumbull County Children Services agency, wrote in a letter.