False rape case rejected

PORT CLINTON — A judge on Wednesday rejected Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's claim that a woman lied about being raped. "The court acquits Ms. Waters on all counts," visiting Judge Janet Burnside announced after a two-day trial, in a scathing rebuke of the Ottawa County sheriff's office investigation and Yost's prosecution. Burnside Arica Waters was a Put-in-Bay police officer when she filed a complaint with the sheriff saying she felt "coerced" into having sex with a detective, who also worked for the Put-in-Bay police department at the time. The incident happened after a pool party on July 5, 2020, at the detective's summer home on South Bass island. In announcing her decision, Burnside said she was particularly concerned with three areas of testimony. "One, the impromptu helicopter ride; two, the text message to the mayor to get Arica Waters hired; and three, he shows determination to have sex immediately." Waters The man she accused gave Waters $300 to give to a pilot on the island to take Waters and others for a ride in a helicopter that day. He also told Waters he sent a message to the Put-in-Bay mayor urging her to hire Waters full time. My house Testimony at trial also was that the pool party was at the man's island home where his wife and young son were at when he and Waters, after drinks, went to another location and had sex. The sequence of events "makes one wonder who's in charge of the relationship," Burnside said, implying that the man was a superior officer and Waters was his subordinate. She suggested what occurred was planned and was sexual harassment. A text message Waters sent to the man the next day led Burnside to believe the man was "grooming her to get what he wants" and that he was "misleading a young, naive woman." Two defense witnesses on Wednesday refuted earlier testimony. The accused man testified on Tuesday that his professional opinion was that Waters was not intoxicated when they were together. Another former Put-in-Bay police officer, Austin Lako, also testified she wasn't intoxicated. Lako changed his testimony, however, after a recorded interview conducted during the investigation was played at trial, in which he said both he and Waters were intoxicated. On Wednesday, former Put-in-Bay police Captain Matt Mariano testified that Waters was slightly impaired earlier that evening but became highly intoxicated after the man she accused served her a drink. Some background The man she accused, according to Mariano, was a "known alcoholic" who prepared mixed drinks that had too much alcohol. He testified he warned Waters about "extremely strong drinks" the man regularly served at his parties. Drew Wood He said he "wouldn't take a drink from (the man) for that reason." The man, who was described in testimony from text messages read during the trial as the "richest man on the island," often had pool parties where alcohol was served, Mariano testified. On duty and off-duty officers were at the party that day, he said. One year he bought firearms and gave them away to friends at one party, Mariano said. Julie Young, a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) testified on Wednesday that it was her opinion that Waters was likely severely intoxicated and possibly drugged when she was sexually assaulted. Yost Waters was "tearful and fearful" during the examination and interview, Young said, and was "worried about what happened and how this was going to affect her life." Waters was hired by the Put-in-Bay police in May 2020 after earning a criminal justice degree and her certification. She was fired after the incident with the man, and has been unable to get work in her field since then. For the defense Waters was represented at trial by attorney Sarah Anjum, from Toledo, and Laura Dunn, a well-known victim rights advocate and attorney from Washington, D.C. Anjum provided the opening argument after the defense at the bench trial rested. Anjum "This case is about power: Those who have it; those who don't; and those who abuse it," she told Burnside. Dunn provided a similar argument in her closing. Drew Wood, the associate attorney general who works for Yost and prosecuted the case, declined to comment after the verdict. He said the attorney general's press office would provide comment. The press office did not provide comment after the verdict. Yost has refused to respond to questions about the case for weeks, and his chief prosecutor, Carol O'Brien, also has ignored inquiries. Neither will say why this prosecution was pursued and they will not say what message they intended to send by seeking to send an alleged rape victim to prison. Advocates fear the message from Yost to women considering reporting sexual assaults is that if they do file reports with law enforcement and a prosecutor does not believe them they could be facing trial and be sent to prison. Two other women also reported being raped by the same man Waters accused. In court filings, Yost and Wood said one of the women was a "willing participant," implying she wanted it, and the other "dreamed" she had been raped, or was otherwise was too unstable to be believed. Those are two common tactics men use to intimidate women and keep them from reporting sexual assault. A third tactic is to threaten to have a woman arrested for falsely reporting and incident, which is what Yost did to Waters. In later court filings, Wood wrote that prosecuting Waters was more important for the attorney general. The other women who filed rape complaints might receive justice some day, but he did not say if the AG's office would pursue it on their behalf. Read more at the links below Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect that attorney Anjum provided to opening statement for the defense and attorney Dunn provided the closing argument.