ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996 TAG: 9609090017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A former Virginia Tech housekeeping supervisor has been found innocent of raping and sodomizing a woman who worked for him in June 1995.
Sidney Perry Cook, 36, stood trial Aug. 30 in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Circuit Judge Willis Woods found the Christiansburg man innocent of rape and attempted forcible sodomy.
Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith said the case came down to one person's word against another's.
At a November preliminary hearing, a 25-year-old woman testified that Cook sexually assaulted her on June 23, 1995, while she was working for Tech's housekeeping department. She did not report the incident to authorities at Tech until about three weeks later.
Cook was fired from his job at Tech and banned from campus after he was indicted in January.
The woman testified she was cleaning at 104 Draper Road, a two-story house used by the university for classes, when Cook knocked on the door of a classroom she was cleaning and she let him in.
While in the classroom, Cook put his hands down her sweat pants and made suggestive comments, the woman said.
Cook followed her to another part of the building, the woman testified, then came into a bathroom she was cleaning and locked the door.
She testified that she told Cook to stop when he pulled her shirt up, kissed her breasts and pulled down her pants. The woman said she was raped twice by Cook.
Because she had been sexually abused before, the woman said she decided to get through the experience the best way she could.
"I just covered my faced with my hands. I done everything he said," she testified.
Cook admitted having sex with the woman, but said everything that happened was consensual, according to defense attorney Robbie Jenkins.
Jenkins said the woman never complained about the incident until after Cook admonished her for missing work and told her he may have to take disciplinary action.
"What they did was completely consensual," Jenkins said.
Keith said he doubted the veracity of Cook's version of the events.
"Even if you believe Mr. Cook - which I didn't - he took advantage of this girl," Keith said.
Keith said Cook's supporters clapped and spoke words of encouragement when Cook was found innocent. The judge, however, admonished the spectators and told them Cook took advantage of the situation and should not be cheered, Keith said.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB