LIMA — A 21-year-old Lima man charged with raping a female acquaintance this summer was released on $2,500 bond Wednesday and must wear an electronic monitoring device while his case is pending in Allen County Common Pleas Court. And because the defendant was ultimately located and arrested in Tennessee following the alleged incident, he must not leave Allen County until his case is resolved.
Cody Fuller appeared in court Wednesday morning before Judge Jeffrey Reed and submitted pleas of not guilty to charges of rape, a first-degree felony, and sexual battery, a felony of the third degree.
Records filed earlier in Allen County Municipal Court indicated that Fuller on July 16 “did engage in sexual conduct with another … when the other person’s ability to resist is substantially impaired because of a mental or physical condition.”
According to a summary of the case written by Lima Police Department Detective Kent Miller, the victim in the case walked a short distance from her home to Fuller’s residence at 807 Maplewood Drive on the night in question. The victim reportedly spent time with the defendant and his father that evening and then elected to spend the night, as she had done on previous occasions, according to the report.
The victim told Miller she went upstairs and fell asleep wearing her pants and shirt while Fuller and his father remained downstairs. At around 4 a.m., the victim told the detective, she awakened to find Fuller in bed with her but with a space between the two. Some four hours later, the victim alleges, she awoke again. This time her pants were off and Fuller was on top of her and was penetrating her vaginally.
Fuller told the detective the sex was consensual because the victim “said it was okay in her sleep,” according to court documents. Miller noted that following the incident the defendant sent a Facebook message to the victim and apologized. Fuller admitted to the detective that he had sex with the woman and “continued after repeated requests for him to stop,” according to court records.
During Wednesday’s arraignment, Assistant Prosecutor Holly Looser argued against allowing Fuller to post bond in the case. Looser said the defendant could not be located when sheriff’s deputies attempted to serve his indictment papers and was eventually found in Tennessee.
But Defense Attorney Greg Donahue said Fuller was not aware he was wanted by local authorities and had gone to Tennessee with friends for an extended weekend. When the car in which Fuller was a passenger was stopped by police in Tennessee, it was learned there was a warrant for Fuller’s arrest in Ohio and he was returned to Allen County and jailed on $10,000 bond.
Donahue blamed prosecutors for going to the wrong address to arrest Fuller initially. He said his client merely “slipped through the cracks” and was not attempting to elude arrest by going to Tennessee.
The judge apparently agreed and allowed Fuller to post bond. A pretrial hearing will be held Oct. 20 in the courtroom of Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge David Cheney.
If convicted all charges, Fuller could be sentenced to a maximum of 16 years in prison.
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