Rape victim recounts sexual assault and robbery

CHRIS ECHEGARAY • STAFF WRITER (Tennessean) • June 25, 2008 A woman was forced to perform oral sex on her attacker in her apartment while another robber took her boyfriend to an ATM machine to withdraw money, the woman testified in court this morning. Jonathan Lawrence, 21, and Rickey Carr, 26, are facing indictment stemming from the robbery and rape after a judge found probable cause at the preliminary hearing in general sessions court. It started when the men accosted Michael Ezekiel, who was alone, after a concert at 2:30 a.m. on June 16. Initially, they forced him to drive to a nearby ATM. Ezekiel couldn’t withdraw money, he testified, and they drove to the woman’s apartment on Hickory Highlands Drive. Ezekiel offered the woman's laptop in the robbery and the men took it, he said. But they wanted $400, Ezekiel testified. The woman gave Ezekiel her ATM card. Carr stayed with her while Lawrence went back out with Ezekiel, she testified. Fighting through tears, the woman testified that Carr made her kneel and pointed the gun at her, forcing her to perform oral sex. She would stop and he moved her to the kitchen and her bedroom, where he attempted to rape her. Meanwhile, Ezekiel struggled with Lawrence at a U.S. Bank ATM on Bell Road. Ezekiel was able to run from the robber and flag down a police cruiser.Police arrested both men. Carr is charged with two counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Lawrence is charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery.

Renamed Sexual Assault Center moving to Metro Center

By LEA ANN OVERSTREET • Staff Writer (Tennessean)• June 11, 2008 The Rape and Sexual Abuse Center at 25 Lindsley Ave. is moving and changing its name. Now known as the Sexual Assault Center, it will move into a 16,000-square-foot facility at 101 French Landing in Metro Center on June 17. The center celebrates its anniversary this fall. For almost 30 years it has provided counseling, support, education and advocacy to survivors of sexual assault. Since 1978, it has helped more than 15,000 children and adult victims of sexual abuse and assault. According to Stephen Lackey, associate director of development, the center's counselors see more than 700 people a year, with more than half that number being children. "Our facility now is just not adequate. There's not enough room to do what we want to do," Lackey said. For 15 years, therapist Eric Fogle has worked with assault survivors, and he said the time has come for a larger site. "We serve a lot more people than we used to, but we're busting at the seams. We're busting out of this building," Fogle said. Center representatives said the new building will provide more space for individual therapy, increased areas for educational development, and a room able to seat more than 80 people for community outreach and education programs. Therapist Char Creson said the changes would not undermine the help she and others are prepared to provide to sexual assault survivors. "Through it all, we keep the clients' needs in mind. That's a consistent thing. Our expertise has been a constant," Creson said.