Who is Shana Philpot? Ohio wife lured teens on Facebook for husband to rape them
CINCINNATI, OHIO: A married couple from Whitewater Township is facing charges in connection with multiple rapes in Hamilton County. Anthony Philpot was indicted this week on three counts of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition, and one count of kidnapping.
The accusations go back to 2016 through 2018. The assistant prosecutor said that Philpot's wife set up a Facebook page where she would befriend young women. She would then allegedly invite them to their Stephens Road home and give them alcohol. Then, Anthony Philpot would allegedly sexually molest them.
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Who is Shana Philpot?
As per reports, Shana, 23, Anthony’s wife, has been charged with three counts of complicity to rape and complicity to kidnapping. Shana and Anthony both surrendered on Thursday, June 10. When Anthony and Shana went to court on Friday, June 11, they both received $250,000 bonds. Anthony was also ordered to undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
As per reports, should they be able to pay the bonds, both must wear electronic monitoring devices to keep them at home and those also will have alerts that will go off if they go near the victims.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office had been investigating the rapes of women in multiple jurisdictions throughout the county. The victims were all reportedly in their late teens and 20s. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office reportedly alerted Hamilton County investigators on February 5 after another victim filed a rape report in northern Kentucky.
Boone County detectives reportedly determined the offense occurred in Hamilton County, and there were “multiple victims who want to come forward and file complaints.”
Shana’s attorney has reportedly claimed that she was afraid of her husband. The attorney also claimed that she had mental health issues. Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, a criminal profiler, and expert on serial crimes, writing for Psychology Today, said that for some of the wives, physical violence is a concern. “They didn’t want to get beaten, so their way of not being hit was to let their husbands or lovers abuse children. They figure the child is the one who is getting hurt instead of them, so why cause trouble?” Other wives, Schurman-Kauflin wrote, “were fearful of losing their source of income if the molestation was discovered. If the wives rely on the husband for money, then they zip their lips.”
She also suggested that for some women, “there is a deviant bond which makes them feel close to their spouses. If a molester confesses his secrets to the wife, then she and he share a unique experience. To trust her enough to tell her means that he must love her.”
“It’s a problem. Predators have used these social media platforms,” tech expert Dave Hatter said of the alleged use of Facebook to draw the victims in. “You really can’t believe anything you read online, because I can pretend to be anyone I want. You really can’t assume that anything you run into out there is legit.”
Hatter also said that people should look at all forms of someone’s social media before meeting them. “Is whatever they are telling you on Facebook or whatever platform, does that align with what you’re finding elsewhere?” He said. “If on Facebook I seem to be this person but on Instagram, I’m this completely different person, this should be a red flag, you know?”