Two Lakes Region men arrested for allegedly raping a 24-year-old New Hampton mother whom they met on the popular social networking website, MySpace, have been indicted by a Belknap County Superior Court grand jury on three felony counts stemming from the May assault against the woman. Anthony Jenkins, 28, of Sanbornton and Ross Lindsey, 25, of Gilford face three Class A felony counts on charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault, felony kidnapping and criminal liability for the others alleged actions during the reported assault. Belknap County Prosecutor Jim Carroll, while declining to comment on any of the case specifics, reported that the alleged 24-year-old victim will be testifying against Jenkins and Lindsey, recounting her assault for a jury, in open court if the case should make it to trial.
Jenkins and Lindsey were previously held on $50,000 cash bail each, though have since been released pending trail. According to an affidavit by Gilford Police Det. Cpl.
Kris Kelley, the alleged victim met Lindsey and Jenkins a month previous on the website and had been chatting with them since. After meeting the two face-to-face briefly once before, the alleged victim told police that the Saturday before the assault, she had decided to hang out with the two men. She stated that she accompanied Jenkins and Lindsey to the Meredith skate park where she watched the two skate.
The victim told police that all were drinking beer. The three then went to Lindsey's residence in Gilford, located across from the new Lowe's Home Improvements store, for a drink, she stated. According to the affidavit, the two men started to manhandle the woman and then they allegedly proceeded to rape her over a period of four hours.
The kidnapping charge that both men currently face is a result of the victim's assertion that she was held down and prevented from leaving the Gilford home while she was being sexually assaulted. After the two left, the victim called her aunt who brought her to Lakes Region General Hospital where she was treated for injuries and evidence of the assault was collected. It was at the hospital that the victim reported the alleged assault to Gilford police officers.
Based on that information, police obtained a search warrant and served it on the Lindsey residence at 7 Sargent Place in Gilford, along Lakeshore Road. Police photographed the scene and collected additional evidence. DNA samples from both men were collected as part of the investigation.
Belknap County Attorney James Carroll, who will be bringing the case to trial, declined to comment on the strength of the case or the physical evidence that is intended to be part of the trial proceedings. Both men, according to the affidavit submitted in support of the initial bail order, have prior criminal records. Jenkins has convictions for indecent exposure, simple assault and resisting arrest.
The assault charge dates back to 2003 and originates from the Laconia Police Department. The other two convictions come from a different court district. Lindsey also has a pending simple assault charge that stems from an incident involving his girlfriend on March 24 of this year.
The victim, whose MySpace account previously listed Jenkins and Lindsey on her friends list, has since removed her profile from the website.
News RSS