Franklin Furnace Man Taken Into Custody in Ross County Following 5-Year Sexual Battery Sentence

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Ross County

ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — A Franklin Furnace man who was originally indicted on two first-degree felony rape charges and later convicted of sexual battery was taken into custody in Ross County this week after a bench warrant was issued in his case.

Clifford G. McKenzie, 61, of Franklin Furnace in Scioto County, was booked into the Ross County Jail on August 19, 2026. Jail records show McKenzie was arrested at approximately 3:30 p.m. and was being held without bond.

Court records show McKenzie’s case was filed in Ross County Common Pleas Court in February 2025. He was originally charged with two counts of rape under Ohio Revised Code 2907.02, both first-degree felonies.

The case was ultimately resolved with McKenzie pleading guilty to an amended charge of sexual battery under Ohio Revised Code 2907.03, a third-degree felony. Court records show McKenzie was convicted on October 27, 2025. The two original first-degree felony rape charges were dismissed as part of the case’s resolution.

According to a judgment entry reflected on the court docket, McKenzie was sentenced to 60 months — five years — in prison for the sexual battery conviction.

Nearly 10 months after his conviction, additional activity appeared on the case.

On August 17, 2026, court records show a bench warrant was filed and issued to the Ross County Sheriff’s Office. That same day, a nunc pro tunc judgment entry of sentence was filed stating that McKenzie had pleaded guilty to the amended lesser offense of sexual battery and was ordered to serve 60 months in prison.

On August 19, the docket was updated to show the bench warrant had been returned by the Ross County Sheriff’s Office. McKenzie was subsequently booked into the Ross County Jail.

As of August 20, jail records continued to list McKenzie in custody on the sexual battery case with no bond.

The publicly available court records reviewed do not specify why McKenzie was not already serving the five-year prison sentence following his October 2025 conviction or what circumstances specifically led to the bench warrant being issued in August.

McKenzie’s sexual battery conviction has been adjudicated; the two original rape charges were dismissed.

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