Sexual assault charges filed in rape case

Published 7:31 am Monday, January 24, 2011

A Spring Valley man faces two charges of sexual assault for allegedly raping a woman who suffers from mental disabilities last February.

Jesse Lyle Cleveland, 24, is being charged with third-degree sexual assault by force or coercion and third-degree sexual assault of a victim with mental impairment. He is set to enter his plea on Feb. 17.

According to a court complaint, the incident allegedly occurred Feb. 28, 2010. The woman told police she awoke to Cleveland — who she said was a casual acquaintance — rolling her onto her back in her bed. Although Cleveland had apparently called her that morning, the woman said she never invited him over.

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Cleveland allegedly began touching the woman in a sexual manner and then forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. A court complaint states he held her elbows down to prevent her from moving.

The woman received a sexual assault examination at Austin Medical Center after the incident; although the exam showed no demonstrable signs of injury, DNA samples taken from the woman later came back as matching those taken both from her bedroom and from Cleveland.

When police interviewed him for the first time, Cleveland said the woman had invited him over to hang out, but after about 45 minutes decided she wanted to sleep. He denied ever sexually assaulting her or having any sexual contact at all.

During a police interview in September, as the investigation continued, police confronted Cleveland about the DNA match and asked if he wanted to change his initial story. He said, “if anything happened it was consensual.”

He later agreed that he had lied the first time he spoke with police. Cleveland then said the woman had invited him over to “have some fun,” which he took as a sexual advance. He also told police the woman had said she would “call rape” on him if he didn’t have sex with her, so he did.

If convicted, Cleveland could receive up to 15 years in prison or have to pay $30,000 in fines.