YORK — Two York men are accused of raping an unconscious woman behind a residence on the 200 block of E. Prospect Street in May of 2014, according to an arrest warrant and court documents.
Stephen Michael Brown, 29, and Jose Victor Matos, 26, both of York, are charged with rape of an unconscious victim, sexual assault and indecent exposure in connection with the incident, York City police say.
The incident happened on May 10, 2014. A resident on E. Prospect Street called police and reported seeing two men — one black, the other Hispanic — dragging a female to the rear of a building. The caller said the black man was on a cell phone and left the scene prior to the police’s arrival.
When officers got to the scene, they found one man, later identified as Matos, with his shirt off and pants undone, leaning over the female victim, who was partially undressed. Matos appeared to be attempting to have sexual intercourse with the woman. When officers announced their presence, Matos quickly got to his feet, but the woman appeared to be having trouble understanding officers’ verbal directives. She was slurring her speech, had difficulty standing and answering questions, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman was transported to York Hospital for medical treatment and a rape examination. Matos was questioned and released.
During the investigation of the incident, the victim told police she had consumed alcoholic beverages in a York City bar earlier that night. She told police she remembered speaking to a friend, but had no recollection of later events and said she did not know Matos, nor did she remember speaking to him. She said she never agreed to have any type of sexual relations with him.
Matos was charged for his participation in the incident in March of this year. A preliminary hearing was held on May 8, and his case was held over for trial, court records show.
On July 12 of this year, forensic evidence examined by Pennsylvania State Police linked Matos to the victim. DNA evidence taken from the victim also linked a second man, Brown, to the suspected rape.
In a subsequent interview, the victim told police she did not know Brown and never consented to sexual activity with him on or near the date of the incident.
An arrest warrant was issued for Brown based on the DNA evidence, according to the criminal complaint.
