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Warrant reveals details in rape case
DASSAULT1.NE. 021207.HLL
Front exterior of a duplex home at 405 Gattis St. in central Durham near the Duke University campus. The duplex was the scene of an alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman.
By Anne Blythe, Staff Writer
DURHAM - The woman who told police she was sexually assaulted at an off-campus Duke party earlier this month broke down in tears after emerging from the bathroom and immediately recounted the incident to a friend, according to a search warrant.
The accuser, according to the warrant, had danced with the suspect at the party organized by members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
When she went to use the bathroom around 3 a. m., and, according to police and the warrant, the suspect came in behind the accuser and closed the door.
"Once inside of the bathroom," the warrant application said, "the suspect forced her to the ground causing her to hit her head on the sink, he then sexually assaulted her."
Michael Jermaine Burch, 21, of 322 Junction Road, Durham, was charged on Monday with second-degree rape. He was released from the Durham County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
The arrest came eight days after Durham investigators were called to 405 Gattis St. early Feb. 11.
A search warrant, filed in Durham County Court late Tuesday, reveals details that led investigators to their suspect.
The document also provides a glimpse of a college party that had an invitation list of about 300 people posted on facebook.com.
After the 18-year-old Duke freshman emerged from the bathroom of the duplex several blocks from Duke's West and East Campuses, her friend had her sit in a car outside the party while she tried to gather more information, the document says.
The friend went back inside the duplex. One of the partygoers, a student at Durham Technical Community College, identified the suspect as "Chris," the document says.
On Feb. 16, investigators picked up the Durham Tech student and gave him a ride to a police substation. The investigators learned there, according to the documents, that the suspect played basketball at Wilson Gym most Saturdays.
With that information, police were able to track down another regular at Wilson Gym. That contact led them to the suspect and the Brentwood Apartment Complex at 322 Junction Road, where the suspect lived.
