KSU Professor Pleads Guilty to OVI charge from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Correction: The story has been changed to reflect that Anokhin pleaded guilty to vehicular assault, a fourth-degree felony, rather than aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony. 

Sergey Anokhin, a Kent State entrepreneurship professor, was released from the Lorain Correctional Institution on Sept. 27 after serving 30 days in prison, authorities said.

Anokhin was involved in a criminal court case, where he pleaded guilty to vehicular assault, a fourth-degree felony, and operating under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Michelle Bialek and Carol McNamara, both residents of Stow, are suing him separately in civil court.

“We only recently found out about this case, so we are just beginning to look into it,” said Eric Mansfield, executive director of media relations at Kent State.

On Oct. 12, 2015, Anokhin was operating his vehicle when he negligently failed to yield at a stop sign on Bratton Road while heading northbound in the southbound lane of Stow Road, according to documents provided by the Summit County Court of Common Pleas.

Anokhin’s vehicle collided head-on with the vehicle of Bialek. McNamara was the passenger in Bialek’s vehicle.

McNamara sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash and was admitted to the Akron City Hospital. Bialek suffered bodily injuries, as well as emotional distress.

At one point, emergency personnel told Bialek her mother probably wouldn’t survive, according to court documents.

After being tested, Anokhin’s blood alcohol content level registered at .164, over double the legal limit of .08, court documents reported. Prosecutors charged Anokhin with aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and drugs under state law.

Though he initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, Anokhin reversed his plea before the Summit County Court of Pleas on Aug. 4. The court sentenced him to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Anokhin was sentenced to 11 months in the Lorain Correctional Institution, according to James Pollack, Summit County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman. Anokhin was ordered to random alcohol and drug testing, as well as participation in a substance abuse treatment program.

The court ordered Anokhin’s driver’s license be suspended for a mandatory and definite period of five years. Anokhin also must have a restricted license plate and an interlocking device installed on his vehicle.

Anokhin then requested a hearing within the court for a judicial release on Sept. 15, which gives a sentencing judge the ability to grant early release without serving the remainder of their prison time to a defendant if they meet a certain criteria.

On Sept. 27, Judge Todd McKenney granted Anokhin judicial release under specific circumstances. Anokhin is now serving parole, according to Pollack.

“Under Ohio law, when it comes to this specific charge and this specific sentence, a defendant must serve, I believe, a minimum of 30 days in prison,” Pollack said.

Anokhin’s faculty webpage on the Kent State website is currently inaccessible. Prior to his arrest, he was scheduled to teach during the fall and spring semesters.

“We don’t comment on personnel matters, but again, we are just beginning to look into the facts of this case,” Mansfield said. 

Angelo Angel is a senior reporter, contact him at [email protected].