Local man accused of assault

0
420

FORTVILLE — A Greenfield man offered to help a friend get home after she’d been out drinking, then raped her, court records state.

Mark Warren, 40, 6245 N. County Road 250E, Greenfield, was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with rape as Level 3 felony, records show.

The victim told police she has known Warren for several years, and he was at the same bar where she and some friends went for drinks earlier this month, according to court records. At the end of the night, the woman didn’t feel comfortable driving after drinking and was offered a ride home from a friend; Warren also got into the car, according to court documents.

The victim told police she woke up later to Warren assaulting her in her home, according to court documents. She told investigators she did not remember asking Warren to come into her home after being dropped off there by their friend, records state.

She immediately pushed Warren away and told him to stop, then fell back to sleep, she told police; the next morning, she awoke to find him still in bed with her and asked him to leave, according to court documents.

Warren faces a single Level 3 felony count of rape, which carries a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison. Fortville Police officers arrested Warren Monday afternoon; he appeared in Hancock Circuit Court and pleaded not guilty to rape.

Judge Richard Culver barred Warren from having any contact with the victim. Warren remained in the Hancock County Jail without bond at press time.

Warren is a Greenfield city employee who has worked in the city’s vehicle maintenance garage for more than 20 years, he told a judge Monday. Because of the case’s connection to local government, prosecutors filed a request asking that a special prosecutor be appointed to oversee the case going forward.

In an interview with police a few days after the incident, Warren denied having harmed the woman, according to court documents. He said he had not been invited to stay the night with her in her home, records state.

During their investigation, police issued a search warrant for Warren’s cellphone. Records show he exchanged messages with another friend that night, stating he was going to have sex with the woman — whom he identified by name — that night, charging documents state.

He later sent messages to another friend stating he and the victim had engaged in sex acts, according to charging documents.

Jim McNew of Greenfield was appointed to serve as Warren’s attorney; McNew did not return a call for comment.