Put-in-Bay police ignored rape complaint

PUT-IN-BAY — She had just two drinks, that much she remembers. What happened after that — until she woke up the following day, violently ill, bruised and beaten over her entire body — remains a mystery.Welcome to Put-in-Bay.She went to a hospital three weeks later — Aug. 26, 2018 — still suffering from severe internal and external injuries.Hospital staff determined she was likely raped in addition to being savagely beaten. They called the Put-in-Bay police and provided them with the details the woman gave them about her attack: She was at a popular island bar with friends and was talking with a bartender she knew. She had just two drinks, but everything from that point until the next day, when she awoke deathly ill at a home the bartender shared with other bar employees, is a blur.The bartender told her he'd found her beaten and bruised, in a field, and brought her there. He said he didn't know where she had been."He told me he found me outside (another island bar). He said my pants were unbuttoned but on," the woman, who is in her late 20s, said. "He said he and his friend took me to his house."THIS IS HOW YOU DO ITThe hospital provided police the names of her friends who came to the island with her, the bartender's name, the name of the bar, information apparently ignored by police. Here's how police did document the call: "An anonymous female called Aug. 26, 2018, to report that she had possibly been raped. When asked when the possible rape occurred, the caller stated that it happened on Put-in-Bay and it was on Aug. 5, 2018. Caller stated she wanted to stay anonymous." That's a familiar refrain for the Put-in-Bay police. In a strikingly similar manner, in 2015, police filed a report that stated a woman who feared she had been drugged and raped by a bartender at Mr. Ed's did not want to pursue charges, even though the woman never made that statement to police.Read more: Bartender acquitted at trialThat woman was led to believe her attack was being investigated when it wasn't being investigated, and in that instance, the same as the alleged rape last year, the call to police came from a hospital where the victim went for treatment. But the 2015 report and the 2018 one both inaccurately document those calls to police, according to both women and hospital records.The 2018 report does not provide the caller's phone number. It does not describe the call as being made from the hospital, nor does it include any of the information the alleged victim said she gave the hospital, or information the hospital gave police about her injuries. There's nothing in the report indicating that the dispatcher asked the caller anything else about the circumstances of the attack, or the nature of the woman's injuries. The entire report is just three sentences. THINGS DON'T CHANGELast week, on Friday, police received another complaint of a sexual assault, this time at Mr. Ed's bar. Police improperly documented the complaint, improperly withheld information about the complaint, and, as of Monday, had not reviewed the criminal complaint with any prosecutor.It's unclear who is investigating the complaint, or whether there is any competent detective assigned to it.Police Chief Steve Riddle has not responded to phone calls or written inquiries about the current rape investigation or the drugged rape complaint made in August 2018, and he has not addressed questions about professional standards maintained by the police for investigating violent crimes and sexual assaults.The rape reports on file with the PIB police reviewed by the Register suggest police seem unconcerned about who is committing drugged rapes, violent attacks and other crimes against tourists, and are more concerned with simply documenting that alleged victims are reluctant to give their names. Once that's established no further questions are asked.There's no indication police attempted to gather any other information about the attack other than the woman's reluctance to give her name, and it's unclear if that even occurred. The report as written shows police did not ask any other questions and gave no assurances they could keep her identity confidential while an investigation is conducted."Because the caller wanted to stay anonymous an investigation in the matter could not be done," Put-in-Bay police Lt. Matt Mariano told the Register Tuesday afternoon, referring to the August 2018 report.Put-in-Bay police Chief Steve RiddlePerry's Monument could be seen in the distance while anglers were fishing Tuesday morning near Put-in-Bay during the Governor's Fish Ohio Day.