PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man accused of raping an unconscious woman last summer is expected to get a new trial date for the second time in as many months.
Seth Lee Owens’ May 30 trial will be reset Friday because of witness unavailability, Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steven Johnson told Judge Christopher Melly last Friday.
Owens, 23, is charged with second-degree rape (incapable of consent: physically helpless/mentally incapacitated) for allegedly raping an unconscious and intoxicated woman at a house party in Port Angeles last Aug. 14.
Witnesses said the alleged victim had fallen asleep on a couch in the living room and that Owens carried her to a bedroom where he raped her.
One of the party-goers who stopped the alleged rape took a photograph of Owens on top of the passed-out woman, Port Angeles police said in the affidavit for probable cause.
The four-day trial was reset April 21 because of witness and attorney unavailability.
An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. That hearing will determine whether certain statements that Owens made to police will be admissible at trial.
Owens has maintained his innocence.
He is being held in the Clallam County jail on $100,000 bail.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
