Former City Council Candidate Sent To Prison For Sexual Assault
A 19-year-old black man who grew up in one of the city's most violent neighborhoods – Linden – and a Republican to boot.
For a moment in 2017, Kieran Cartharn was the darling of the Franklin County Republican Party and the local media, for that matter.
Cartharn was the youngest to win a primary for Columbus City council and advance to the General Election. The political newcomer didn't win one of three open City Council seats, but he managed to snag 21, 887 votes.
Then, as quickly as this fairy tale started, it ended with a bizarre string of crimes that resulted in a Franklin County judge sending the 25-year-old Cartharn to prison.
On April 17, Court of Common Pleas Judge Andria Noble sentenced Cartharn to a minimum of four years after he pleaded guilty to the lesser offenses of gross sexual imposition and burglary. He must also register as a Tier 1 sex offender for 15 years.
In October of 2021, a grand jury indicted Cartharn on rape and aggravated burglary charges, along with two counts of trespassing. Columbus Division of Police said that on January 1, 2021, Cartharn broke into a house at 1927 Waldeck Ave. and raped an OSU student.
Police said on March 13, 2021, Cartharn also broke into a house at 55 E. 13th Ave.; on July 25, he broke into an apartment at 194 E. 14th Ave.
A few weeks before Cartharn learned about his fate, we chatted on Facebook. Cartharn told me that "I wish I could change a lot. But I recognize my wrongs and am trying to make them right."
He said his focus is on serving his time and his three children. "They need me, and I need them. I live for my children."
In 2021, Cartharn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Cartharn served 30 days at the Franklin County Jail. Police said he sent the mother of his children threatening emails.
The ex-wife said that Cartharn has an "extraordinary sex drive" and is "addicted to pornography. Particularly voyeurism porn like peeping through
windows and watching strangers have sex."
In 2018, Cartharn pleaded guilty to three counts of impersonating police officers.
In each case, police said he approached female students on OSU's campus and claimed to be a police officer. The court placed Cartharn on community control for a year.
In June of 2017, according to a complaint a woman filed with the Columbus Division of Police, Cartharn, then 20, "rubbed the inside of her thigh" and "exposed his penis to her." Charges, for reasons unknown, were not filed.
In January 2014, police arrested Cartharn, then 17, for shoplifting at Macy's in Easton. The complaint shows the teenager stuffed $1,115.22 worth of merchandise under his coat, including jewelry, shoes, and underwear.
"People mess up," said Cartharn, "but people change."