GREENFIELD — A teen pleaded not guilty Wednesday to allegations he sexually assaulted a girl after they were drinking together in his Greenfield apartment.
Israel Tutrow, 19, faces charges of rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, court records show.
A girl came forward earlier this year and told police Tutrow forced her to have sex during a party at his apartment, according to court documents.
The girl, who is underage, said she was drinking alcohol with Tutrow and some friends in March. She became sick and laid down on Tutrow’s bed.
Then, he forced himself on her, she said, according to court documents.
Prosecutors have charged Tutrow with one Level 3 felony count of rape and one Class A misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Level 3 felony counts are punishable by up to 16 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Class A misdemeanors carry potential penalties of up to one year in jail and $5,000 in fines.
Tutrow denies the girl’s allegations, and he refused to speak with police as part of the investigation, court documents state.
Charges were filed against Tutrow earlier this month. He was arrested Friday and held in jail for five hours before being released on bond.
He was ordered to appear in Hancock County Superior Court 1 on Wednesday afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty before Judge Terry Snow. He’s expected back in court in August.
Tutrow has hired Indianapolis attorneys Zachary Smith and Angela Trapp to represent him in the case.
The girl told police she “didn’t remember saying ‘no’ to (Tutrow),” but she’d told him previously that she wasn’t interested in having sex, court documents state.
She said Tutrow told her the act between them “was consensual, even though she was drunk,” court documents state.
The girl woke up the morning after the incident and left the teen’s apartment alone, walking back to her parents’ home barefoot, court documents state. She reported the incident to a family member, who reported it to police.
The girl submitted to a sexual assault examination, commonly referred to as a rape kit, court documents state. Several injuries, including discoloration and cuts on the girl’s arms and legs, were photographed as evidence, court documents state.
Police searched Tutrow’s apartment after the girl made the report. There, they found some of her belongings, including her shoes, which were found “sitting on top of a full trash can with plastic bags concealing them,” court documents state.
At press time, Tutrow’s attorney had not returned a request for comment.