Prosecutors say Meridian man intended rape
BOISE -- Prosecutors say Stephen Newman of Meridian is obsessed with rape and fully intended to carry out the crime last summer.
But they say Newman was thwarted when a woman followed her hunch that the July 27, 2007 offer of a free iPod on Craigslist was, as she told her husband, just not legit.
"I said this is too creepy, honey. This is really weird," the woman testified in state district court Monday as testimony began in Newman's attempted rape trial.
Newman, 33, was charged with attempted rape last year after a woman called police to report that someone appeared to be sitting in wait at a West Boise park.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Armstrong told the jury that Newman planned that evening to sexually assault someone.
The woman and her husband followed the e-mail instructions to go get the i-Pod which took them to a porta-potty by a park in West Boise.
The woman testified she wanted some confirmation before calling police.
"Because it would sound goofy calling the police saying there's some creep on Craigslist," she testified. "I didn't know know if they'd believe me or not."
They saw a mysterious SUV and called police.
Officers say they found Newman wearing a black stocking cap, and they also found a knife, BB gun and ski gloves.
Police seized a laptop in Newman's SUV which later was found to contain home movies that prosecutors say showed Newman having sex with a woman who was pretending that she was being raped by him.
Defense attorneys say Newman is not a violent person and was only playing a prank.
He faces 15 years in prison if convicted.
But they say Newman was thwarted when a woman followed her hunch that the July 27, 2007 offer of a free iPod on Craigslist was, as she told her husband, just not legit.
"I said this is too creepy, honey. This is really weird," the woman testified in state district court Monday as testimony began in Newman's attempted rape trial.
Newman, 33, was charged with attempted rape last year after a woman called police to report that someone appeared to be sitting in wait at a West Boise park.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Armstrong told the jury that Newman planned that evening to sexually assault someone.
The woman and her husband followed the e-mail instructions to go get the i-Pod which took them to a porta-potty by a park in West Boise.
The woman testified she wanted some confirmation before calling police.
"Because it would sound goofy calling the police saying there's some creep on Craigslist," she testified. "I didn't know know if they'd believe me or not."
They saw a mysterious SUV and called police.
Officers say they found Newman wearing a black stocking cap, and they also found a knife, BB gun and ski gloves.
Police seized a laptop in Newman's SUV which later was found to contain home movies that prosecutors say showed Newman having sex with a woman who was pretending that she was being raped by him.
Defense attorneys say Newman is not a violent person and was only playing a prank.
He faces 15 years in prison if convicted.
