By BECKY THOMAS
Staff Reporter
A Cheney man has been charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
Charles V. Huckabee, 47, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Spokane County Superior Court March 30, and was released on a $100,000 bond April 5.
Cheney police arrested Huckabee March 16 after the alleged victim reported the crime to a Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputy March 8 after a sexual assault examination at a Spokane hospital.
According to court documents, the female victim told police that she had attended “an informal bonfire gathering” at a Medical Lake bar March 5, where a man approached her and initiated conversation.
Sometime after midnight the victim accepted a ride from the man, later identified as Huckabee, who asked her to accompany him to the home of a couple who had also been at the bonfire and had spoken with the victim and Huckabee. The woman told police that Huckabee drove her to a Cheney trailer park instead of the couple's home in Medical Lake. She reported telling Huckabee that she did not want to enter his travel trailer, but he grabbed her, causing her to fall and injuring her arm.
The victim told police that Huckabee's actions made her “totally in fear of and intimidated by him.” She went inside with him, where he forced her to injest a “small dark solid lump” he said was marijuana, but which she said affected her equalibrium, she told police, and Huckabee then engaged in sex with her.
On the morning of March 6, the victim told police she escaped the trailer by telling Huckabee she needed to use the bathroom and flagged down a passing motorist, who drove her to a Cheney fast food restaurant and she called a cab. She reported the incident to police the following Monday, March 8.
SCSO deputies turned the case over to the Cheney Police Department March 12. Huckabee had a recent arrest for harassment and matched the description provided by the victim. His vehicle also matched the victim's description, as did the RV park where he lived, and a photo of Huckabee was picked from a lineup by the victim. Huckabee was arrested March 16, and told detectives the sex he had with the victim was consensual.
A trial date of May 24 was set by the Superior Court.
Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)