GREENFIELD — Mark Warren thought the woman he is accused of sexually assaulting wanted him to come with her home that night.
Did she say it to him outright? Text it to him, maybe? No; not that he can recall. But it was implied, he told police.
In text messages exchanged with friends prior to the alleged incident, the 41-year-old from Greenfield — who faces a single felony count of rape and is standing trial this week in Hancock Circuit Court — discussed his plans to have sex with the woman, who he knew through work.
But in an interview with police the next day, he denied any sexual involvement with the woman. He’d slept at her house that night, he told a detective; but they’d done nothing but kiss. His DNA was found on the alleged victim hours after the alleged sexual assault occurred, according to testimony.
On the second day of Warren’s trial Wednesday, the jury heard from two local law enforcement officers who helped investigate the case and two forensic biologists who examined the evidence.
They learned that Warren’s DNA was recovered by swabs taken of private areas of the alleged victim’s body on the day after the alleged assault; and they watched a taped interview in which the man denied ever having touched the woman inappropriately or ever having forced himself on her.
The woman previously testified that she’d been out celebrating her birthday with a few friends. She’d consumed a lot alcohol, enough that she’d vomited and didn’t feel comfortable driving.
She woke up in the middle of the night and realized Warren had forced himself on her while she was unconscious, she testified.
Prosecutors, who wrapped up their presentation of evidence Wednesday midday, say the woman was too intoxicated to consent to sex.
Warren denies the allegations.
The defendant took the stand briefly Wednesday afternoon while the jury was away from the courtroom and told the judge he would not be testifying in his own defense. His attorney, Bryan Williams of Anderson, rested the defense’s case without calling anyone else to the witness stand.
Today, jurors will return to hear closing arguments from both parties before beginning deliberation.
During the proceedings Wednesday, the jury watched a video of Warren’s interview with Detective Marlin Durbin of the Fortville Police Department, who was the lead investigator on the case.
The video showed Warren denying the allegations brought against him, telling the detective that nothing sexual happened between him and the woman.
“We did not have sex, I know that for sure,” Warren told Durbin.
Durbin questioned Warren about why he’d gotten in the car with the woman and her friends as they were leaving the bar. Warren lived in a different part of the county, and even if he was too drunk to drive, wouldn’t have needed a ride in the direction they were going, Durbin said.
Warren responded that he believed the alleged victim wanted him to go home with her. But when pressed by Durbin for more information, Warren said, “Did she say to my face ‘Hey, do you want to come to my house?’ No; not that I can remember.”
They didn’t exchange any text messages to that effect either, Warren said.
The woman testified in the first day of trial that she’s sure she didn’t invite Warren to her house on the night of the alleged assault, though she admits her memories are spotty due to the amount of alcohol she’d consumed.
She remembers rebuffing some advances he’d made toward her at a bar that night, including ignoring an offer to buy her a drink and dodging a question from a mutual friend about what she’d thought of him.
She told the jury she has a brief memory of seeing Warren in her living room after she’d been driven home; but she thought maybe he was just checking to make sure she’d gotten inside OK. Warren told her — and later repeated to police, according to the video — that he carried her to her bedroom after she’d tripped trying to walk up the stairs. She has no recollection of that, she testified.
The next thing the woman remembers is Warren assaulting her, she told the jury. She had to force him off of her, she said, and then passed out again almost immediately. When she woke up the next day, Warren was still in her home.
The woman was examined by nurses at the Madison County Sexual Assault Treatment Center. The rape kit collected at that time was sent by police to the Indiana State Police Crime Lab for testing.
Two forensic biologists testified Wednesday that male DNA was found on the woman’s body. That DNA was “consistent with” Warren’s DNA, according to testimony.
The trial continues today at 8:30 a.m. in Hancock Circuit Court. The Level 3 felony count of rape Warren faces carries a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.