A Cincinnati area statehouse candidate appeared on Dateline this month and is now calling for a reevaluation of Ohio's statute of limitations for rape in light of her friend's assault.
Nancy Aichholz, a Republican Indian Hill businesswoman, is running against Democratic Rep. Rachel Baker to represent Ohio's 27th district. The district includes parts of Cincinnati, Anderson Township, Indian Hill, Madeira, Reading, Silverton and Wyoming.
Aichholz appeared on an Oct. 2 episode of Dateline to support her close friend Dana Beatty, who was assaulted by a masked man for hours in her apartment in 1989.
Beatty's attacker was identified 35 years later as former physician Frederick Tanzer thanks to DNA evidence and the persistence of her daughter.
Prosecutors
could not charge Tanzer with rape because in Ohio the statute of limitations for rape is 20 years with an additional five years if a DNA hit is obtained.
Tanzer was instead convicted of lying to federal investigators and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Aichholz said in a statement that Beatty's story is one of the reasons she decided to run for office.
"My friend Dana's story is heartbreaking, and it should shock all of us. Victims of violent crime, especially victims of rape and sexual assault, should not be denied justice because of arbitrary deadlines," she said. "Statutes of limitations should never shield violent offenders from accountability simply because identifying them took too long."
Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati statehouse candidate goes on Dateline to support friend
