Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 1, 1995 TAG: 9509010057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harry Lee Thompson, 29, was arrested in July after two women reported to police that they were raped on different nights by a man who offered them a ride as they walked in high-crime areas of the city.
On June 18, one of the women testified, she was walking down Patterson Avenue Southwest about 2:30 a.m. when a burgundy van with tinted windows pulled up. She accepted the driver's offer of a ride, the woman testified in Roanoke General District Court. The woman identified the driver as Thompson.
A short time later, she said, Thompson parked the van in an alley, pulled a knife from under the seat and told her to disrobe. The woman said he raped her several times, both inside and outside the van, and forced her to perform oral sex.
She testified that Thompson left her naked to walk several blocks for help. The woman said she knocked on a door but the occupant refused to help. A passing motorist then called police, she said.
The second woman testified that she accepted a ride from Thompson the night of July 10 as she walked on Salem Avenue. She said Thompson raped her and then pulled her out of the van by her hair and beat her.
Both woman admitted Thursday that they are convicted prostitutes, but said they were not working on the nights they were attacked.
Defense Attorney Gary Lumsden questioned those assertions and said the women's criminal records will likely become an issue in the case. "They were out there by themselves, cruising the streets in the middle of the night," he said.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Greg Phillips said the women clearly did not consent to sex, and whether they were prostitutes was irrelevant to the charges against Thompson.
Thompson, a professional photographer, did not testify Thursday. He was returned to jail after the preliminary hearing to await trial.
by CNB