HANCOCK COUNTY — A teenage girl said a man pointed a gun at her head, forced himself on her and raped her during an encounter in September.
Christopher Lee Hargraves, 18, McCordsville, has been charged with nine crimes, including two Level 1 felony counts of rape when compelled by force or imminent threat of force. The charges carry a term of 20 to 40 years in prison for each count.
Hargraves was not in custody at the Daily Reporter’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department has been looking for him since a warrant was issued Oct. 1.
According to a probable cause affidavit, sheriff’s deputies were called to a school on Friday, Sept. 11, after a student told a school counselor she had been raped.
The girl reported that the night before, she contacted Hargraves, via Snapchat, to take her to a friend’s home, but later told officials she really had plans to meet up with Hargraves.
Hargraves picked up the girl around 11:50 p.m. The two went to his house, where they went upstairs to a bedroom, the affidavit said. Hargraves is accused of pulling a gun on the victim and pointing it in her face while she was playing a video game, telling her they were going to have sex.
The girl told investigators she was fearful of Hargraves and told him she did not want to have sex with him, the affidavit said. She fought him to make him stop, but the young man wouldn’t listen and raped her, she said.
When the girl tried to leave to walk home, Hargraves would not let her and told her he would shoot her if she tried to leave, the report said. Hargraves then said he would drive her home, but when they got close to where she lived, Hargraves pulled out the gun again and would not let the girl leave, the affidavit said.
The girl eventually got away and reported the incident to school officials the next day.
While executing a search warrant at Hargraves’ home, deputies found him sitting inside a vehicle, where they located marijuana and a handgun equipped with a magazine, the affidavit said. Investigators also learned Hargraves did not have a permit to possess the handgun.
Hargraves told police he knew the girl but did not rape her, according to the affidavit. He said he had had issues with her in the past.
He also told officials the gun was not his, but belonged to a relative, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also interviewed a person who saw the victim when she returned home who described her as “kind of frantic and crying,” the affidavit said.
Hargraves was initially arrested and taken to the Hancock County Jail on Friday, Sept. 11, on drug and gun charges, but the other, more serious charges had yet to be filed, so he was let out of jail. Since then, the county prosecutor’s office has added other charges.
In addition to the two Level 1 felony rape charges, Hargraves is also facing a Level 3 felony count of criminal confinement; two counts of Level 5 felony intimidation; two counts of a Level 6 felony charge of pointing a firearm at another; and two misdemeanors.
Anyone knowing the location of Hargraves is asked to contact the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department immediately at 317-477-1147.
