Two Norwalk men were arraigned Friday morning after being accused of rape by a 22-year-old woman who knows one of them well enough to allegedly get into a car with him to smoke marijuana.
Joseph Gay, 30, who lists his address as Norwalk's Open Door Shelter, and Anthony Lee, 30, of 14 Sention Ave., each were charged with two counts of kidnapping, threatening, weapons in a motor vehicle, aggravated sexual assault and conspiracy. Gay's bond was set at $100,000, and Lee's was set at $25,000.
The woman's boyfriend called police Thursday evening after she returned home via a taxi, saying that she had been held against her will and sexually assaulted several times. The woman told Norwalk police she had seen Gay at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when she left Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now on South Main Street after a class. He allegedly invited her into his car to smoke marijuana while she waited for the bus, which they have done before.
Lee was allegedly in the front passenger seat, and the victim got into the back next to another man. She never smoked any pot, she said, because he began to sexually assault her, outside of NEON.
Gay had her phone. The man held her face against the side of the car, she said. Gay allegedly showed her a silver and black gun and told her to comply.
She was allegedly driven around in the car for hours with the men. They made several stops to sell drugs, smoked marijuana and drank alcohol, she said. Then, as it was getting dark, they took her to the Sention Avenue basement apartment. They parked in the driveway behind the building and dragged her inside, she said. She said Gay and Lee raped her then, while the other man held her down. When they fell asleep, she ran out and called a cab.
Police say she had swelling and redness on her right eye. They went to the apartment and found Lee and Gay, both asleep. They were arrested, and the victim identified them.
In court Friday morning, it was noted that Gay's last arrest was seven years ago. He has no history of violence and his previous arrests were mostly for narcotics and larceny. His mother was in the courtroom.
Lee's father, wife and child were also there. He has no prior record. "Our family is taken aback by these charges," said Dwight Lee, the accused man's father. "This is shocking," he added. "He was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not within his character to do this."
He speculated that the alleged victim had made the story up to cover the fact that she had come home late from a party they all attended. "My son would never do that," said Gay's mother.
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