Victim testifies in rape trial

Ride home ended in assault, she tells court

They met at a downtown Lawrence nightclub. At the end of the night, she agreed to give him a ride home through the pouring rain to his apartment near Sixth Street and Monterey Way.

Once there, according to the woman’s testimony Tuesday in Douglas County District Court, the man talked her into getting out of the car and giving him a hug. He picked her up, carried her to a dark, muddy area, then punched, choked and raped her, the woman testified.

Tuesday was the first day of trial for the defendant, a 20-year-old Lawrence man, on charges of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated battery and aggravated kidnapping. The alleged assault happened early June 6 after the two met at La Tasca, 943 Mass., and she drove the man to Jacksonville apartment complex, 700 Monterey Way.

Photos admitted into evidence Tuesday show the woman — who was 28 at the time of the attack — with a swollen, bruised right eye, an abrasion on her neck, and broken acrylic fingernails.

Surveillance photos taken at a local convenience store show the two together inside the store before the alleged attack, which police said happened between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

Other evidence presented in the case includes the muddy pair of jeans the woman was wearing at the time of the alleged attack.

The trial continues today.

The Journal-World normally does not identify suspects in sex crimes unless they are convicted. The paper does not identify victims of sex crimes.