A former drum-major instructor at Ohio State University could be sent to prison for as long as five years after pleading guilty today to sexual battery involving an OSU student.

A former Ohio State University drum-major instructor could be placed on probation or be sent to prison for as long as five years after pleading guilty Monday to sexual battery of an OSU student.



The minimum prison sentence that Stewart Kitchen, 29, faces is nine months.



Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Laurel Beatty scheduled sentencing for June 29.



Regardless of his sentence, Kitchen will be required to register as a sex offender every 90 days for the rest of his life.



Kitchen, who is listed as Christopher S. Kitchen in court documents, was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman in his University District home on April 16, 2015, after taking her out for drinks late the previous night.



He was indicted on two counts of rape, two counts of sexual battery and a misdemeanor count of failing to comply with underage alcohol laws. Most of the charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.



He will remain free on bond while awaiting sentencing.



The victim attended the hearing but did not speak. The Dispatch does not identify victims of sex crimes without their consent.



Kitchen had known the woman for several months because of her interest in trying out for drum major, Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Rausch said. He texted her late at night on April 15, 2015, for a meeting that she assumed was to discuss tryouts.



Rausch said Kitchen took the woman out and bought her drinks in the campus area, then told her that he was too drunk to drive her home and suggested that they walk to his place on Indiana Avenue. The woman repeatedly told Kitchen that she wanted to go home after going to his residence, but he resisted those requests and eventually raped her, Rausch said.



After she reported the incident the next day, police had her place what is known as a "controlled call" to Kitchen, with investigators monitoring and recording the conversation. During the call, Rausch said, Kitchen tried to persuade the woman to tell police and university officials that the sex was consensual.





>> Ohio State band instrutor charged with rape was reprimanded for text

Kitchen was the Ohio State marching band's head drum major in 2006 and 2007 and was hired as a contractor to serve as a drum-major instructor in 2014. His contract expired shortly after his arrest.

jfutty@dispatch.com