A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a popular Midtown nightclub is now charged with rape in a separate case.
A Fulton County judge added the new charge against Dominique Williams after hearing testimony Wednesday from an Atlanta police investigator.
Williams, 34, already faces an aggravated sodomy charge in an alleged Jan. 19 sexual assault at Opera nightclub.
Atlanta police Detective Katie Riester, the lead investigator in the nightclub case, told a magistrate judge the second alleged victim came forward after learning of the Opera case. The woman told police she went on a date with Williams in September and had drinks with him at a restaurant. At one point, the woman went to the restroom, came back and finished her drink.
The woman said she soon felt woozy and weak, Riester testified. Williams then offered to have her wait at his place until she felt comfortable driving home. The woman agreed to go to Williams’ South Fulton home, Riester said.
“(The victim) said they were having good conversation, laughing and then the next thing she remembered was waking up in his bed,” Riester said.
When the woman woke up, she saw Williams in the bathroom and heard the sound of him taking off a condom, Riester testified. She also noticed her one-piece outfit was torn. When the victim asked what happened, Williams told her he was rubbing on her when it ripped, Riester testified.
The woman grabbed her things and left. The woman told Riester she did not feel comfortable reporting the sexual assault at the time.
The rape charge comes a day after accuser Jasmine Eiland announced a lawsuit against Opera nightclub, alleging the venue did not have adequate security the night she says she was sexually assaulted. Eiland inadvertently streamed her attack on Facebook Live.
The nightclub’s attorney Bryan Knight said the venue is cooperating with the investigation. “The safety of all our guests is our main priority and we have always upheld the highest standard of security each night.”
It is the policy of the AJC to not name alleged victims of sexual crimes, but in this case the victim chose to publicly discuss the incident.
“I figured that if I had not come forward and put my face forward, what would the next woman do,” Eiland said at a press conference Tuesday.
Riester said Atlanta police obtained three separate videos from the night of the sexual assault: witness cell phone footage, surveillance video and the Facebook Live stream by the victim. Riester said in on of the videos, Eiland could be heard saying “Please don’t do this to me, please stop.” In another video, Eiland is heard repeatedly saying “no” and “stop.”
Video of the sexual assault has since been removed from Facebook.
According to Atlanta police, Eiland was sexually assaulted twice, once on the dance floor again on an outdoor patio.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Eiland told police someone put drugs in her drink, Channel 2 Action News previously reported. Eiland’s attorneys said Tuesday they are still awaiting her toxicology results, but video from that night shows she was “clearly in and out of consciousness.”
At Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, Williams’ defense attorney Shequel Ross argued there were holes in the detective’s testimony concerning both assaults. Ross said the detective couldn’t account for minor details including why Eiland never asked anyone near her for help.
“All these people around (Eiland) but she never asked for help from people around her,” Ross said. She also questioned Eiland’s judgement and claimed the victim continued dancing after the alleged assault.
Williams turned himself in to authorities on Jan. 29. He remains in the Fulton County Detention Center. A bond hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday.
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