photo by: Mackenzie Clark

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, which houses Douglas County District Court and a number of other criminal justice services at 111 E. 11th St., is pictured April 8, 2020.

A Topeka man has been formally charged with rape in Douglas County District Court in connection with an October 2020 incident.

Thomas J. Zarse, 22, is accused of knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse with an individual, who was 20 at the time, without that person’s consent through force or fear on Oct. 28, 2020, according to a charging document provided to the Journal-World. Zarse first appeared in court for the charge on June 24.

The charge is a level-one person felony, which comes with a minimum sentence of 147 months, just over 12 years, in prison for offenders who have little to no criminal history, according to Kansas sentencing guidelines.

Zarse was originally arrested on May 27 at the Douglas County Jail, the Journal-World previously reported. He posted a $25,000 cash or surety bond and was released from custody later that day.

Major Trent McKinley of the Lawrence Police Department told the Journal-World at the time that the arrest stemmed from an October 2020 incident that the police department investigated, but he declined to provide further information.

Additional details of what occurred were not immediately available. The Journal-World has filed a request for the affidavit supporting Zarse’s arrest. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 27.

The sheriff’s office on Wednesday refused to release Zarse’s booking photo to the Journal-World.