A former Midwest university professor who fathered at least 10 children and wrote about Christian sexual ethics has been charged with rape and sexual battery of one or more minors.
John Kent Tarwater, 55, was indicted last Friday in Greene County, Ohio, about an hour west of Columbus, on two counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of gross sexual imposition.
Tarwater was booked into the Greene County Jail, where he remained in custody as of Friday night.
One victim was known to Tarwater and was as young as 10 years old when the alleged years-long abuse began, per the indictment viewed by the Daily Mail.
Tarwater had worked at Cedarville University, a Baptist school with roughly 6,400 students, as a business administration faculty member and associate finance professor since 2017.
In December 2022, he penned an article titled ‘Does Sexual Self–Gratification Glorify God?’ which has since been deleted but remains archived online.
‘Perhaps the issue that causes the greatest confusion for both single and married people centers on the permissibility or impermissibility of masturbation,’ Tarwater’s article read.
He co–authored a piece the previous year titled ‘Business Ethics in the Marketplace: Exploring Transgenderism.’
Former Cedarville University professor John Kent Tarwater, 55, was charged with two counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of gross sexual imposition
Cedarville University academic catalogs said Tarwater joined the school in 2017. Earlier this week, the university said Tarwater had been ‘dismissed’ in October
Tarwater also wrote the 2005 novel ‘Marriage as Covenant: Considering God’s Design at Creation and the Contemporary Moral Consequences.’
‘The book analyzes the covenant understanding of marriage in relation to feminist and homosexual attacks on the standards of sexual moral behavior taught in the church and reflected in the culture,’ its back cover read.
Tarwater has been accused of engaging in sexual conduct and sexual contact with a victim under 13 during part of the alleged period and under 18 at later times, according to the indictment.
The abuse took place between August 2019 and last July, prosecutors claimed.
Some of the allegations happened at a Cedarville address listed in the 3300 block of US Route 42 East, the indictment said.
Tarwater compelled the victim by ‘force or threat of force,’ per the legal filing.
He was arraigned Thursday morning at the Greene County Courthouse and joined the proceedings on a video call from jail, according to Dayton 24/7 Now.
Tarwater’s attorney, who was listed as Jay A. Adams in legal records, entered his plea of not guilty for him in court.
‘This is a man who is, of course, presumed innocent,’ Adams said. ‘This is a man who has no criminal history.
Tarwater was charged with two counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of gross sexual imposition
Cedarville University previously highlighted Tarwater in a press release touting the city as the ‘most collegiest college town in Ohio’
Adams added that Tarwater was facing ‘delayed allegations’ and argued a $1 million bond was more typical for homicide cases.
‘There is no dead body in this case,’ he told the court.
Cedarville University previously spotlighted Tarwater in a press release celebrating that the Washington Post had ranked Cedarville as Ohio’s ‘Most Collegiest College Town.’
The city accomplished this by ‘melding town culture with university culture,’ listing Tarwater as an example of that.
‘It’s also professors like Dr. John Tarwater, associate professor of finance, watching one of his 11 children on the court,’ the press release said.
The document was prepared by the university’s public relations department led by Mark D. Weinstein, according to The Roys Report.
‘I am aware of John Tarwater having 10 children, not 11,’ Weinstein told the outlet.
Prosecutors said that some of Tarwater’s abuse happened in a house at the 3300 block of US Route 42 East in Cedarville
Tarwater’s work includes the 2005 book ‘Marriage as Covenant: Considering God’s Design at Creation and the Contemporary Moral Consequences’
Cedarville University told the campus community about Atwater’s indictment and arrest on Tuesday through an email from John W. Davis, the school’s associate vice president for human resources.
‘Today we were informed that Dr. Tarwater was indicted by a Greene County Grand Jury and arrested on eight felony counts, including rape, gross sexual imposition, and sexual battery,’ Davis wrote.
The email shed further clarity on when the school learned about Tarwater’s alleged crimes.
‘We were informed in July 2025 that Dr. Tarwater was under investigation for concerning allegations,’ Davis wrote.
He added: ‘Due to the nature of the investigation, he was immediately placed on administrative leave and restricted from coming on campus.’
The school added that Tarwater had been ‘dismissed from his contract’ in October.
‘Our understanding is that these charges do not involve anyone Dr. Tarwater met or interacted with as a University professor,’ Davis wrote.
‘Even so, we desire to be transparent and ensure the safety of everyone on campus,’ the email said.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Tarwater’s attorney Jay A. Adams, Greene County prosecutor David Hayes and Cedarville University for further comment.
