Greencastle man, 22, arrested on rape charge

After nearly a four-month investigation, a 22-year-old Greencastle man has been charged with rape in a Memorial Day weekend incident.

Anthony Michael Lewis was arrested on a warrant shortly after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at his rural Putnam County home near Limedale. City Police Officer Brad Hiatt lodged him in the Putnam County Jail at 10:05 p.m.

He is accused of raping a 23-year-old Greencastle woman at his residence southwest of the city after she had passed out following a long day of drinking and partying over the holiday weekend.

Lewis made his initial court appearance Thursday, appearing before Judge Matthew Headley in Putnam Circuit Court. Entering a not-guilty plea on Lewis' behalf, Judge Headley set bond at $30,000 cash-only and named Greencastle attorney Sid Tongret as his court-appointed lawyer in the case.

Although no trial date was set, a pretrial conference in late October was scheduled.

Charged with rape, a Level 3 felony under the new Indiana criminal code, Lewis is facing 3-16 years in prison (the presumptive sentence for which is nine years). The new code now orders convicted felons to serve 75 percent of their sentence, meaning the sentencing range of 3-16 years would see actual imprisonment of 2.25-12 years.

The events of May 23 unfolded as both the defendant and his accuser were part of a large group of Greencastle friends who had attended concert at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Both reportedly passed out from intoxication during the ride home, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Putnam Circuit Court.

When they returned to Limedale where the victim's car was parked, she entered the house alone with Lewis to use the bathroom and sober up before driving home.

The last thing she remembered, the victim told authorities, was sitting at the foot of the bed, petting a cat before laying her head back and either passing out or falling asleep.

The probable cause affidavit indicates she remembers waking up and finding her shirt and bra pulled up toward her neck and her shorts and panties both removed with Lewis standing over her, "holding my legs apart as he was taking advantage of me."

The victim told police she was "too far gone" and couldn't wake up enough to do anything about it, remembering she tried to reach for her cell phone but said her head was hurting so badly so couldn't even text anyone.

The Greencastle woman said she waited for Lewis to leave the room before texting a couple of City Police officers she knows for help. One of them later transported her to Putnam County Hospital for a sexual assault examination.

Blood-alcohol testing done at the same time found her BAC to be .069 percent (.08 percent is considered intoxicated under Indiana law) four hours after the event and a reported six hours since her last alcoholic beverage.

Lewis did not deny having sex with the victim, noting he too was intoxicated and "had so much to drink I wasn't thinking" when he laid down with the woman and started by rubbing her arm and trying to kiss her. Admittedly, he got no response from her but reportedly kept pursuing his intentions regardless because he assumed she was enjoying it too, the probable cause affidavit states.

Although the two were acquaintances they had never been romantically or sexually involved, investigators noted.

Witnesses reported, however, seeing the two "making out" earlier that day at a Speedway residence where the group had stopped before and after the concert.

The victim said she considered Lewis "like a brother" to her.

After the incident, Lewis reportedly sent several texts to the victim, saying he was sorry for what he had done and proclaiming "how stupid" he was and that they "needed to talk."

Screen shots of those text messages on Lewis' cell phone were taken after a search warrant was used to get the phone, and will be entered as evidence.

The rape charge is rare for Putnam County, Prosecutor Timothy Bookwalter told the Banner Graphic, calling them "tough cases."

An attempted rape charge was filed last year in an incident at the Inn at DePauw, but it has been more than a decade since a rape charge was filed in Putnam County, the prosecutor noted.

"I've been here 11 years," he reasoned, "and this is the first rape charge we've filed in that time."