ONEONTA _ A SUCO student allegedly raped on a well-worn path to campus early Friday morning fought with her attacker but was beaten into submission, according to police, the city prosecutor and court records.
The alleged assault on the 23-year-old woman happened in a lightly wooded area buffering the State University College at Oneonta campus from homes on surrounding streets. A short path in that area links a campus parking lot with Clinton Street, a dead end.
Less than 24 hours after the alleged attack, Justin J. Gillingham, 23, of Oneonta, turned himself in to police and was charged with first-degree rape, a class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Gillingham, described by police as a self-employed laborer, remains in jail on $100,000 bail or $200,000 bond and is to appear this morning in Oneonta City Court for further proceedings.
The Daily Star has a policy of not identifying sexual assault or rape victims.
At about 2:40 a.m., the woman was punched in the face by her assailant before succumbing to the beating, according to an arraignment document on file in city court.
She was then raped, the document states.
City prosecutor Michael Getman said the attack was brutal and left the woman with a bloodied and swollen face.
But during an interview with police, Gillingham told investigators he was actually the victim of an attack by the woman and four men, according to the court document.
Gillingham said scratches on his back and near his right eye, as well as scrapes on his right knuckle, were sustained in that attack, according to the document.
"We have nothing to substantiate that claim," said Lt. Dennis Nayor of the Oneonta Police Department.
Nayor said those injuries were most likely picked up by Gillingham during his assault on the woman.
The woman did everything she could during the attack, Getman said.
"She was incredibly brave," he said. "She made sure she left marks on him."
Earlier that night, the woman met up with Gillingham and another man downtown and later gave the two men a ride to Gillingham's residence in her car, Getman said.
She then left in her car with Gillingham to return back to the SUCO campus, Getman added.
"She was living on campus, and he had offered to ride back to her dorm with her to make sure she got home OK," Getman said.
The attack occurred shortly after they arrived on campus, Getman said, as she showed Gillingham where the path was that leads back toward Center City.
After the attack, the woman fled to a dormitory, where one of the residence hall staff heard her screaming and crying, Getman said.
She was treated at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital and released, Nayor said, and was able to provide a name to police after she was interviewed.
"Detectives were able to follow up on a location where he could be found," Nayor said.
But they did not find him when investigators went there later that morning.
Gillingham learned police were looking for him and turned himself in the same day at 6:15 p.m., Nayor said.
The public defender who was assigned to represent Gillingham had a conflict, and Jack Gibbons was appointed Monday morning to represent the man, Getman said.
Gibbons said he could not comment on the case.
"I haven't seen any of the paperwork," Gibbons said Monday afternoon. "I'll meet (Gillingham) first thing in the morning."
The spring semester at SUCO ended Saturday after the college's graduation ceremony.
Stranger rapes like these are not common in Oneonta, Nayor said.
"This is not a frequent occurrence," he said.
But Nayor said Oneonta residents should take some basic precautions when out at night.
These include not walking home alone, especially late at night, knowing who you are with and staying in well-lit areas.
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