State of Missouri v. Rashidi Don Loper

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.

AFFIRMED