Date rape drug use investigated in Toledo assault

7/15/2007

Police are investigating the rape of an East Toledo man and the possibility that Rohypnol, GHB, or another type of date-rape drug, was involved.

The man told police he was at the Rip Cord, 115 North Erie St., shortly before 2:30 a.m. but was without a ride home. Two men whom he recognized from the bar offered him a ride, he told police.

"The man was adamant he was not intoxicated," said Detective Gene Kutz. "He said he'd had very little alcohol."

The man remembered climbing into the suspects' vehicle, but then is unclear about what happened until hours later. About 4:30 a.m., he was inside an abandoned house trailer near Consaul Street being raped by one of the two men he'd met earlier, the detective said.

According to the victim, the two suspects then left. Dazed and disoriented, the victim was able to exit the structure, crawl over a security fence, and reach a nearby convenience store where he called 911, Detective Kutz said.

He was taken to St. Charles Mercy Hospital where he was treated, and tests were ordered to determine whether the victim had been drugged, the detective said.

Detective Kutz noted, however, that date rape drugs - usually colorless and odorless - are undetectable after a short time. They cause sedation, memory loss, and, in some cases, death.