A former Bowling Green State University athlete has been found guilty of rape.
The jury spent fewer than 90 minutes deliberating before returning with a split verdict against Charles
Lamar.
Lamar, 25, was indicted June 18 on two counts kidnapping (sexual motivation specification and violent
predator specification), rape (sexual violent predator specification) and aggravated burglary, all
first-degree felonies. He was also indicted for disrupting public service, a fourth-degree felony.
The jury found Lamar guilty of all charges except aggravated burglary.
Sentencing is set for May 17.
The four-day trial ended Friday in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Molly Mack.
“When you go into the jury room, I ask you above all else to use your common sense,” said Assistant
Prosecuting Attorney Brian Boos to start his closing remarks in the trial of Charles Lamar.
“Common sense tells us that if you are running without shoes through a parking lot at 5:30 a.m., banging
on a former teammate’s door with no purse, no shoes, no car keys, no phone, no possessions,” he said.
“Common sense tells us that is the person who is escaping. Common sense tells us that is the person who
is being retrained.”
Surveillance video from June 15 shows the victim running and soon after being followed by Lamar in his
vehicle.
The victim showed up at the hospital 28 minutes later.
Lamar, a native of Lake Mary, Florida, graduated in May from Bowling Green State University.
Lamar made inconsistent statements to detectives and while on the witness stand, Boos said. Lamar said
semen can stay in a woman’s body for three days; he said he and the victim had had consensual sex days a
couple days prior.
The hospital nurse testified that is unlikely given the areas Lamar’s DNA was found on the victim.
“I can’t emphasize this enough: This is not a consent case,” Boos said.
The victim’s statements are consistent throughout, he said.
“What does common sense tell you about someone who admittedly left the state of Ohio on the exact date a
warrant was issued for his arrest,” Boos said.
The indictment date is important, Boos said in his closing statements, because it is the same day Lamar
left for Florida.
The incident occurred June 15.
Boos reviewed the charges and what the jurors needed to consider.
For rape, forensic evidence proves the accused purposely compelled by force or threat of force the victim
to have sex.
With the first kidnapping charge, they should decide if Lamar removed the victim from the place she was
found or restrained her liberty by force for the purpose of facilitating a felony.
The same applies for the second kidnapping charge, but with the purpose to have sex against the will of
the victim.
Aggravated burglary applies to what happened June 14, when the accused committed an offense after his
privileges to remain in the home had been revoked.
Damaging property to prevent law enforcement officers to respond to an emergency is the definition of
disrupting public service.
“Any way you look at it, the evidence corroborates and confirms what (the victim) testified. It directly
contradicts any of the defendant’s assertions,” Boos said.
“This is going to come down to the credibility of (the alleged victim),” said public defender Justin
Daler in closing arguments.
The couple knew each other for five years and had dated off and on.
“If Charles was such a bad guy, why would she keep going back?” Daler said.
In early June, the victim had traveled to Florida with Lamar and stayed with him for four days.
Lamar had testified they had consensual sex 29 hours prior to the time he was accused of rape.
“You would expect to see semen … up to 48 hours,” an expert testified, Daler said.
She testified he held her down, raped her, and she went out the window screaming the entire time. But
there were no bruises where she said she was punched, there are no bruises to her arms or wrists, and
there are no abrasions on her feet, Daler said.
No one testified to the exact time the semen was placed and there was no vaginal tearing, he said.
A huge deal was made about when Lamar left the state, but he was never told there was a warrant until he
was arrested, Daler said.
“He never ran, he never raped (her). He went back (to Florida) to take care of his grandma,” he said.
Lamar planned to come back, Daler said.
The state touts a thorough investigation was conducted, but there was no subpoena of anyone else’s phone
records and semen evidence from the sheets wasn’t collected, Daler said.
They say he smashed her phone, but it was lying in the parking lot for five to six hours and was likely
run over by a vehicle, he said.
And why chase her in his car when Lamar, who was a football player, could have outrun her.
“When looking at all the evidence, it is clear and obvious the (victim) is not credible, she is all about
the drama,” Daler said.
A hearing will be held Wednesday morning to review the specifications that accompanied the charges as
well as a pretrial for a previous indictment.
Lamar also was indicted in June in a separate case for burglary, a second-degree felony, and criminal
damaging or endangering, a second-degree misdemeanor.
On May 13 – the week of graduation — Lamar allegedly kicked in the front door of a residence in the 300
block of North Main Street and damaged the home.