ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997               TAG: 9701170092
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-3  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER

HOMELESS MAN GUILTY OF BATTERY CHARGE REDUCED; ORIGINALLY WAS RAPE

A homeless man charged with raping a woman under a bridge near downtown Roanoke was convicted Thursday of a reduced charge and released from jail.

Under a plea agreement reached in Roanoke Circuit Court, David L. Griffin pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery and was sentenced to time he has served awaiting trial - about four months, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Melvin Hill.

Griffin, 35, was arrested Sept. 9 and charged with raping a woman he had known for several months. The 38-year-old woman told authorities she was sexually attacked after going with Griffin to a large concrete ledge beneath the Elm Avenue overpass that spans Interstate 581.

The area, which is above the view of passing motorists, can be reached by walking up a sloping concrete wall. The spot is often used by homeless people seeking shelter, Hill said, and it has several discarded mattresses and other makeshift furnishings.

The woman was not homeless, although she frequently hung out with the city's street people.

After reporting the offense about 5 a.m. Sept. 9, the woman told police that her assailant tore off her clothes, choked her, raped her and tried to force her to perform oral sex, Hill said.

Had the case gone to trial, Griffin would have contended that the woman consented to sex, defense attorney Onzlee Ware said. Although Griffin maintained his innocence, he accepted the plea agreement to avoid facing a possible life sentence for rape, Ware said.

Hill said prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge against Griffin because of several potential problems with the case. The woman refused medical treatment after reporting the rape, so there was no physical evidence.

Also, medical records showed that bruises the woman said were caused by Griffin were noticed by hospital officials several days before the attack, when she sought treatment. At that time, she told doctors that the bruises were from a fall.

As part of the plea agreement, Judge Robert Doherty ordered Griffin to have no further contact with the victim.

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