Tecumseh man is facing charges of rape of an intoxicated woman

Tecumseh resident Robert A. Wages was arrested Monday in connection with a case in which he’s charged with rape, two counts of sodomy and failure to stop a person under 21 from drinking intoxicating liquor. 

He is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond. He was arraigned Tuesday, and a bond appearance hearing is scheduled for May 4. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Lt. Matt Rhoades, he and fellow officer Deputy James Fountain were assigned to a call of a rape, which was reported to have occurred the same morning. 

The victim told the officers that she had been assaulted and raped by Wages around 6 a.m. that morning. The woman said that after becoming so intoxicated she passed out under a kitchen table, Wages sexually assaulted and raped her. She said she tried to push him away during the act but was unable to do so. 

The woman said after the assault, she had someone take her home. She then came into the sheriff’s office to  make the report. 

Several witnesses told officers they heard Wages having sex with the victim less than an hour after the victim was “blacked out drunk,” the report says. They confirmed the woman did black out from alcohol consumption and was sleeping on the kitchen floor just before the incident. The victim is an adult but under 21 and therefore unable to legally drink alcohol. 

Rhoades contacted Wages, who reportedly admitted to having sex with the woman but said he thought it was consensual and believed that she had sobered enough to be able to have sex.