Man Pleads Innocent To Raping Girl, 17

A Spokane man, David R. Craig, pleaded innocent Friday to a charge of forcibly raping a 17-year-old Spokane girl in the woods near Loon Lake on Sunday.

Craig, 33, who gave an address of 7814 N. Altamont, is accused of beating and raping the girl after offering her a ride from Spokane so she could visit her boyfriend, who was staying with friends at Loon Lake. He faces trial March 4 on a charge of second-degree rape.

Bail was set at $100,000. Craig remained in protective custody at the Stevens County Jail Friday because of an apparent suicide note officers said they found in one of his pockets when he was arrested Monday.

Court documents say Craig approached the girl at a north Spokane convenience store, where she was attempting to call her boyfriend. The girl told authorities she refused Craig’s requests along the way that she agree to date him or give him a kiss.

She said Craig stopped at a wooded area near Loon Lake and dragged her from the car. When she screamed, he hit her three times in the face so hard she thought she was going to pass out, she told police.

The victim said she pretended to be unconscious while Craig raped her. He carried her into the woods and left her, she said, and then she walked to a home about a mile away.

Stevens County sheriff’s officers found Craig by a check he passed at the convenience store.

, DataTimes