Woman tells of knife-point rape
Saying her assailant threatened to slash her wrists to make it look like she had committed suicide, a local woman recalled the day she was allegedly raped at knife point in her home by her ex-boyfriend.
?He said if I wanted to see my children grow up I?d better do what he said,? the rape victim testified Tuesday, pointing to her former boyfriend, Richard I. Turner, 46, seated at the defense table, as the person who raped her. ?He threatened to slash my wrists and make it look like a suicide if I didn?t do what he wanted.?
The woman said she and Turner had dated for about three years but that she had just broken off the relationship. The woman said she was in the laundry room when she heard the door shut, and then, moments later, felt the cold steel of Turner?s knife against her throat.
?He drug me through the house and into the bedroom by the hair,? the woman recalled, saying Turner then began making threats against her, telling her to take off her clothes and submit to his advances.
The victim said he tied her up with her children?s karate belts and then raped her, telling her he could have her anytime he wanted.
In warrants against Turner, the victim said her assailant became apologetic once the rape was over, begging her not to contact police and saying he would never come back again.
?He had never been violent before,? the woman admitted in light of the unusual behavior that day.
While being apologetic, Turner reportedly went to the sheriff?s office just after the incident and told them that his girlfriend might be seeking a warrant, with Turner maintaining all he participated in was rough consensual sex. The defense Tuesday questioned the victim about the rough sex question, with the woman saying she had never asked for rough sex. The defense also suggested the woman had made rape allegations in the past.
However, the court did not allow the question to be asked, opting to bind the case to the grand jury based on the evidence presented during the hearing. Turner?s bond will remain at $50,000.