A Missouri man who claimed he had consensual sex with a Washington University medical student was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and burglary on Thursday.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 28-year-old Jared Hurst claimed he had a three-month relationship with a second-year medical student that led to late night consensual sex. Yet, there were no cellphone, email, or social media records to prove the pair had ever even spoken before.
In court this week, Hurst said no record of their relationship existed since it was “secret relationship,” and he only communicated with her when he visited her condo after 9 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He also said they never went out on dates and he never met her roommates.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the victim appeared in court to relive the moment an “angry stranger” broke into her apartment. She said Hurst creeped through her window at her Central West End Living condo off of North Boyle Avenue at around 1:20 a.m. in September 2016.
The victim said Hurst pushed a pillow into her face and demanded she “spread her legs” or get shot. He then allegedly raped her repeatedly.
“He grabbed one of my pillows and shoved it over my face. He raped me … I’ve never been so terrorized in my life,” the victim testified.
Before leaving her apartment, the suspect reportedly took the victim’s cellphone and threatened to kill her if she left her bedroom. The victim said as soon as he left, however, she began sending emails out to family members and friends, pleading with them to call 911 immediately.
Authorities later found that DNA left at the crime scene matched to Hurst. The suspect was arrested around a week after the incident.
The victim explained in court that she planned to wait to have sex until she finished her education and found someone she wanted to marry. She was in her second year at medical school in 2016, but has since suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In a previous trial, a jury deadlocked on the rape charge but found the suspect guilty of stealing the victim’s cellphone. Hurst spent a year behind bars on a theft charge, a sentence he’s since completed. He’s now gearing up to testify for second trial on the rape charge, after the jury split split 6-6 during the previous trial.
According to Hurst, the victim staged a crime scene after they had sex and made up the rape allegations out of “retaliation, regret, remorse and humiliation.” He claimed he met the victim at a car detailing shop near her condo.
Hurst is scheduled for sentencing on February 1.
[Feature Photo: Jared Hurst/Police Handout]
