Man indicted on charges he raped sleepwalker

CINCINNATI (AP) — A grand jury on Tuesday indicted a man accused of raping a college student while she was sleepwalking near her home.

The woman, a 23-year-old student at the University of Cincinnati, woke up during the attack and fought back, but could not get away, said Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Seth Tieger.

She didn’t consent to sex, and anyone seeing the woman in her sleepwalking state would have known that something was wrong, Tieger said.

“It’s not like she was carrying on a normal conversation,” Tieger said.

Dexter Ford, 52, was indicted on two charges of rape, attempted rape, kidnapping and felonious assault. He faces up to 46 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Ford, who is homeless, was charged with felonious assault because he knew he was HIV positive when initiating the attack, Tieger said.

Defense attorney Jeff Adams said the case will center on the woman’s state at the time of the alleged crime.