Accuser testifies against man charged with rape

The defense called no
witnesses.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — On the final day of testimony, the woman accusing Richard Hadden of rape, kidnapping and auto theft described a variety of ways that Hadden degraded her in her living room May 2, 2006.

She spent much of her remaining time on the stand Wednesday answering questions about her own behavior.

The woman said Hadden forced her to return to her house on South Street with him that night by threatening her with an ice pick, which he kept visible on the ride to her house and once they were in her living room.

Hadden faces more than 21 years in prison if he’s convicted of all the crimes.

Over a period of an hour or more, Hadden called the woman names and forced her to perform sex on him, she said.

Finally, she made up a story about wanting to get a lubricant from upstairs, she said. That allowed her to get away. Upstairs, she took her 3-year-old son from his bedroom to hers, locked the deadbolt on the door and put a television against the door.

When Hadden started yelling at her through the door and trying to break it down, she took the child and dropped out of the second-story window to the ground. She then wove through yards — nude — and found her way to a cousin’s house several blocks away to get help.

The fall to the ground caused her to seek medical attention for her back, the woman said. But she didn’t tell emergency room personnel or police about being raped for 10 days, she said.

Though she told them of being “attacked,” she didn’t go into detail about what happened because of her embarrassment, she added.

Defense attorney John Fowler questioned the woman on a variety of issues relating to her drug and alcohol use, reason for not putting on clothing from her bedroom, and her statements.

In his cross-examination, the woman admitted she drank a large amount of alcohol during the hours leading up to the alleged attack but said she had done no cocaine. She said she told Hadden she would have sex with him that day if he would agree to leave. She was tired and had to work the next day, she testified, and wanted him to go home without sex, however.

When she retreated to the bedroom, she didn’t put clothing on because she didn’t “think about the fact that I was naked.”

She said she had “hung out” with Hadden about 12 times over the previous six months before the alleged attack and had sex with him two times before then.

She said she spent time with him partly because he bought her gifts, such as a coat, shoes, jewelry and gifts for her son.

Hadden, 56, of Dover Street Southwest in Warren Township, watched much of the proceedings on a video monitor in an adjacent room. He was repeatedly warned by Fowler, deputy sheriffs and Judge John M. Stuard to remain quiet during the trial.

But while the alleged victim was testifying, Hadden called her a derogatory name loud enough for jurors to hear, and Judge Stuard ordered him out of the courtroom.

The defense rested without calling Hadden or any other witnesses to testify. Closing arguments are set for this afternoon.

runyan@vindy.com