The Gallipolis man charged with the rape of an Ohio University student was arraigned in Athens County Municipal Court yesterday and is denying that he had any sexual contact with the woman.
Levi D. Canterbury, 21, is set to appear before a grand jury at 9:30 a.m. today for allegedly raping an OU student in the early hours of Sept. 10.
Canterbury placed a 911 call to the Athens Police Department after 3 a.m., reporting that he dropped off an intoxicated, injured woman on the corner of Court and Union streets.
Five days later, a female OU student reported being raped by an unknown man between 2:50 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. that same morning. The victim reported that she became lost in the vicinity of state Route 682 while walking home from a party, according to an OUPD crime alert.
Seeking assistance from a passing motorist, she was taken to a lit parking lot where she said she was raped. After the assault, she said she was dropped off near College Gate.
In the 911 call, Canterbury identified himself by name and admitted to picking up a woman along Route 682 and dropping her off at the corner of Court and Union.
“She is very, very inebriated,” Canterbury said in the call. “I tried to convince her to not just go wandering off, but her backside or lower leg or something is bleeding pretty heavy.”
Canterbury also stated in the call that he had left the scene of the drop-off in a car and he was a visitor to the Athens area.
“She didn’t have any friggin’ pants on … When I left her she was walking down Court,” he said. “But I left her at the intersection of Court and Union, ma’am. There’s a pool of blood … in my seat here. I didn’t notice it until I opened the door.”
Authorities arrested Canterbury at Ft. Bliss, Texas, where he was deployed with his National Guard unit. He was transported back to Ohio two days ago. He faces one count of rape.
Though Canterbury denies any sexual contact with the victim, Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said there is “biological evidence to the contrary.”
Blackburn also disputed a claim in an article in The Athens Messenger yesterday that said the victim had been cited for disorderly conduct by intoxication the night of the rape, calling it a “false rumor.”
Rape is a first-degree felony. If convicted, Canterbury faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $20,000, according to Ohio Revised Code.
Canterbury is being held on $200,000 bond at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.
sm366909@ohiou.edu
