HANCOCK COUNTY — The trial of a Greenfield man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl after a night of drinking is under way in Hancock County Superior Court 1.
The case against Israel David Tutrow, 20, started Monday and is expected to last throughout the week.
The jury, under the supervision of Judge Terry Snow, heard opening arguments from both sides and from the accuser, who gave nearly four hours of testimony during the opening day of the trial. The jury also heard testimony on Tuesday and will convene again today.
Tutrow, a former Greenfield-Central High School student, faces a Level 3 felony charge of rape and a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The charges stem from an incident in late March of 2018, after the 16-year-old left her home late in the night, without her mother’s permission, to meet with Tutrow, who was 19 at the time.
It was the second night in a row she sneaked out of her home late at night to meet Tutrow without her mother’s knowledge, the girl testified. The first night ended with the two at Tutrow’s apartment, where he tried to have sex with her, she testified. She asked him to stop, which she said he did.
The next night, the girl told the jury she met Tutrow and a friend and went back to Tutrow’s apartment. There, they started drinking vodka. The girl said she became too intoxicated to know what was going on other than realizing Tutrow was having sex with her.
It wasn’t until the next day, after the girl had returned home and had traveled out of state with her family, that she and her mother discussed the previous night. The girl was taken to a medical facility, where authorities were called for a rape examination.
An investigation ensued, and charges were filed in June of 2018.
During her opening statement, the lawyer for the defendant told the jury the victim knew what she was doing and that she and her client engaged in a consensual sex act.
“She knew there was going to be alcohol, and she was good with that,” said the defense attorney, Angela Sallee Field Trapp of Indianapolis.
Deputy prosecutor Catherine Wilson said that was not the case and that Tutrow used alcohol to get the girl intoxicated after she had turned him down for sex the previous night.
The girl told the jury she got so drunk that she threw up on multiple occasions and had even tried to leave the apartment, but was surrounded by Tutrow and several other men who were present and would not let her leave.
Tutrow and the girl met through the girl’s cousin, who connected them via the social media site Snapchat. After a few hours of exchanges via social media, the two agreed to meet the first night.
During their first meeting, which took place in a park and along the Pennsy Trail, two other men and the girl’s cousin were also present. After a while, the cousin left, while the girl decided to go to Tutrow’s apartment with him and the two other men.
The second night, the victim met Tutrow and another man alone before going to the apartment, where the drinking started.
Prosecutors say no one else has been charged in connection with the case. The defendant, if convicted, could be facing 3 to 16 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
