An aspiring model was new to the Atlanta area and hoping to jumpstart her career when Kristopher Powers allegedly slid into her Instagram DMs.
Powers told the woman he worked in the entertainment industry and could boost her modeling career, even book her on a photoshoot with singer Chris Brown. When Powers was looking for an assistant in mid-February, the woman volunteered to do the job, booking and paying for Lyft rides around metro Atlanta for him, with Powers promising to pay her back, a police officer said.
Three weeks later, in the early hours of March 2, Powers raped the woman in her car, Lilburn Police Investigator Cody Belcher said at a Thursday hearing in Gwinnett County court.
Powers, 24, of Decatur, was arrested April 20.
PREVIOUSLY | Cops: DeKalb man raped woman in Gwinnett Zaxby's parking lot
Despite their business arrangement, the woman didn’t meet Powers in person until the night of the alleged assault, Belcher during the preliminary hearing in county municipal court.
On March 1, the woman met Powers at Istanblue Lounge (now known as Blue), a Buckhead hookah lounge. While they were at the restaurant with a group of other people, Powers sexually propositioned the woman twice via text message, and she turned him down both times, Belcher said.
After a few hours at the restaurant, Powers and the woman decided to leave. The woman had been drinking and asked Powers to drive her car to a Zaxby’s in Lilburn. She didn’t want Powers to know where she lived, and lived close enough to the restaurant that she felt comfortable driving home from there, the investigator said.
On the drive back to Lilburn, the woman became frustrated that Powers was not taking a direct route and “wanted to drive around and talk,” Belcher said. When they arrived at the Zaxby’s, the woman called a Lyft to take Powers home. When the car arrived, Powers “waved off” the car, Belcher said. The woman called another car to pick him up.
Powers then climbed into the backseat of the woman’s car, pulling her with him, Belcher said. Powers got on top of the woman, took her clothes off and began forcibly penetrating her with his fingers, according to Belcher. He then performed oral sex on the woman and raped her, Belcher said.
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Powers “overpowered” the woman and she “couldn’t get him to stop,” Belcher said. A detective recovered a discarded condom a few days later.
The woman reported the rape to Lilburn police within hours of the incident, the investigator said. She was “visibly upset, shaken and crying” when recounting the event, according to Belcher. Nurses at the Gwinnett County Sexual Assault Center found injuries in the woman’s genital area and bruises on her neck, shoulder and knee.
Powers initially claimed to have never heard of the woman, but later told police that the sexual contact he had with the woman was consensual, Belcher said.
The issue of bond was not addressed at the preliminary hearing Thursday; it must be addressed in Gwinnett County Superior Court.
Powers is currently being held without bond at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
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