By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — A Carthage man has been charged with forcible rape and sodomy for an alleged assault Wednesday night involving a 32-year-old woman.
Police responded to a report of a disturbance at the woman’s residence at 10:20 p.m. The woman told police she had been sexually assaulted and slapped until she lost consciousness.
Carthage police Chief Greg Dagnan said the woman was taken to McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital in Carthage for treatment of injuries suffered in the assault that were not life-threatening.
William F. Hutson, 33, was stopped in a vehicle near the residence a short time after police arrived and was arrested on suspicion of having committed the assault.
The Jasper County prosecutor’s office filed charges Thursday against Hutson for forcible rape and forcible sodomy. A probable-cause affidavit states that he allegedly held the woman down on a bed and sexually assaulted her despite her efforts to get him to stop.
A police detective called in on the case wrote in the affidavit that he observed fresh bruising on the woman’s arms and a bra strap that was bent due to the undergarment being forcibly removed.
Hutson remained in custody at the Jasper County Jail on Friday. His bond was set at $100,000.
