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Date: 10-16-2020
Case Style:
State of Missouri v. Rashidi Don Loper
Case Number: SC98295
Judge: George W. Draper III
Court: SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI
Plaintiff's Attorney: Garrick Aplin of the attorney general’s office
Defendant's Attorney:
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Description:
Saint Louis, MO - Criminal defense lawyer represented defendant Rashidi Don Loper charged with attempted rape, domestic assault and armed criminal action.
: Rashidi Don Loper was in an on-and-off relationship beginning in 2009 with a woman he
ultimately married. Based on an April 2015 incident between them, the state charged Loper with
first-degree attempted rape, two counts each of first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal
action, and victim tampering. At trial, the woman testified Loper came to her apartment, where
she fought him off as he attempted to rape her. She testified Loper choked her until she lost
consciousness, she woke up in the bathtub with a deep cut to her wrist, then she called 911. She
denied the injury was self-inflicted. The responding officer testified a doctor at the hospital told
him the wrist injury was not self-inflicted, prompting him to refer the case to a detective with the
domestic assault response team. The detective testified about her investigation and how she
believed characteristics of power and control were manifested in the case. The doctor who
treated the woman at the hospital opined – based on her experience as well as the woman’s own
reporting – the wrist injury was not self-inflicted. An expert in the general behaviors and
characteristics of domestic assault victims testified how power and control worked in domestic
violence cases involving strangulation and sexual assault, but she did not testify about the facts
of this case or the specifics of the couple’s relationship. Loper testified his relationship with the
woman was tumultuous, and they both engaged in domestic violence, but he denied using force
during sex, cutting the woman’s wrist or choking her until she lost consciousness. The jury found
Loper guilty as charged, except for one count of first-degree domestic assault for which the jury
found him guilty of second-degree domestic assault. The circuit court sentenced him to a total of
22 years in prison. Loper appeals.
Outcome: AFFIRMED
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: