Trial for man accused of raping and forcing Canadian tourist into prostitution goes to jury

By Dave Toplikar

Published Wednesday, April 13, 2011 | 4:17 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, April 13, 2011 | 5:21 p.m.

After three days of testimony, a trial for a Las Vegas man accused of repeatedly raping a Canadian woman and forcing her to work for him as a prostitute in January has gone to a Clark County jury.

Judge Valerie Adair, who had the jury go home for the evening, instructed them to return at 9 a.m. to begin deliberating on a verdict for Charles Ford, 49, who is charged with one count of pandering, one count of living from the earnings of a prostitute and seven counts of sexual assault.

A sexual assault nurse examiner on Wednesday described and showed graphic photos to the jury of the injuries received the victim, a tourist who says she was repeatedly raped and forced into prostitution by Ford for three nights in January.

However, Ford's attorney got the nurse to admit she couldn't specifically prove it was Ford who caused the injuries, because the victim also had consensual sex with another man after the alleged rape.

Prosecutors say that through threats and intimidation, Ford coerced the Canadian woman into prostitution for him and also sexually assaulted her multiple times from Jan. 1 through Jan. 3.

The woman, who testified Tuesday, said the alleged assaults took place in two rooms at the Travelodge, 5075 Koval Lane, in Las Vegas.

She also said she was forced to act as a prostitute at truck stops the first two nights and was ordered to go alone to the Las Vegas Strip for the third night, but that she would be watched.

While at the Luxor, the woman told police she had consensual sex with a Canadian man, who she didn't charge. After that, she said she went to Hooter's, where a security guard put her in contact with police.

Jeri Dermanelian, a registered nurse with University Medical Center, testified Wednesday of Ford's jury trial.

Dermanelian showed the jury graphic photos of the injuries the victim suffered. The nurse said the victim described the pain she felt during the rapes, in terms of pain intensity, as a seven out of 10.

The nurse said the victim told her she had consensual sex with the Canadian man later that evening, but felt no pain.

However, Ford's attorney, Ken Frizzell, asked if she could tell by the examination and by the photos alone whether those injuries were caused by one man or another. Dermanelian said she couldn't tell by the photos — that information came from what the victim told her.

However, Deputy District Attorney Michelle Fleck got the nurse to say that she had no reason to believe the victim was not telling her the truth.

In other testimony today, Metro Detective David Mason, a member of Metro's vice section, said officers arrested Ford in the room that the victim said he had obtained for the two of them at the Travelodge.

At that time, the victim knew Ford as "Charlie Mac," and identified him, Mason said.

Mason said police also apprehended another man at the Travelodge, David Thompson, who was known to the victim as "T," after he had left a different room at the hotel.

Mason said officers said they had expected also to find "Annette," a woman the victim said had lured the victim into the prostitution setup, at the Travelodge. However, they found her later through phone records.

According to the victim's earlier testimony and police reports, the victim met Dennis while both were acting as prostitutes on New Year's Eve. The two struck up a friendship and the victim drove Dennis to Las Vegas, introduced her to "T," who told her that she would "break" to Ford, who would be her pimp, the victim said.

The victim said when she refused, Ford had threatened taking action against her adult children and also confiscated her phone, her laptop computer and some of her other belongings.

The final witness the state called was Al Beas, a Metro vice detective who is an expert on prostitution.

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti, Beas testified that the Canadian woman was the kind of person who pimps liked to recruit because she had no family in the area and had been a prostitute in the past.

Beas explained how pimps get information from the women, then use torture and intimidation to get the women under their control. He said the women are often afraid to go to police for help.

He also said that a woman who had previously been a prostitute was more easy for a pimp to get under his control. He said a former prostitute was "almost like an addict being put back on drugs."