Lawyers open rape trial

A jury must decide whether to believe 19-year-old Anthony Parks raped a woman at knifepoint or the defense’s claim that the woman made up the rape story to cover for the fact that she agreed to have sex for $30.

Attorneys gave opening statements Tuesday afternoon in the trial of Parks, who is charged with first-degree rape and first-degree robbery with sexual motivation in connection with a March 26 encounter in downtown Spokane.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Hay told the jury of eight women and four men that Parks approached the woman at the intersection of First Avenue and Cowley Street on March 26 and asked her if she was working. The woman said she was not, Hay said.

Parks then pulled out a large kitchen knife, put it to the woman’s neck and forced her to a secluded alley where he raped her, Hay said. After the forced sex, Parks then stole about $2 in change and a condom with a green wrapper from her purse.

The woman, who suffered a cut on her hand and bruising to her lower extremities, went to a convenience store at First Avenue and Division Street and called 911. As she spoke with a Spokane police officer, she saw Parks ride by on his bicycle.

“She pointed to the defendant still riding his bicycle in the vicinity,” Hay said. “He turned and looked at the officer and her … and rode away.”

Officer Devin Eriksen responded to the scene and found Parks riding away on his bicycle. Eriksen stopped Parks and asked him about the reported rape.

“Defendant Parks told him that he never met or had sex with the victim,” according to court records. But during a search, the officer found about $1.92 in change in Parks’ pocket and a condom matching the one described as being stolen from the victim.

A rape kit was performed and body fluids found on the victim came back as a match to Parks, Hay said.

Parks’ attorney, Brooke Hagara, told the jury that this is a case “that’s going to require a lot of attention to detail.”

Hagara said her client will testify later in the trial that he had a fight with his girlfriend on March 26 before riding his bicycle downtown. There he approached the woman at First and Cowley and agreed to pay her for sex.

“He gave her $30 and they had sex. He got on his bike and rode away,” Hagara said. “The next thing he knows, he is contacted by a police officer.”