Man accused of rape files countersuit

5-11-2012 New Mexico:

An Oklahoma man accused of raping a Tennessee woman in Santa Fe three years ago has responded to the woman's rare civil lawsuit by accusing her of defaming him.

The woman's lawyer, Mark Donatelli, said the man claims he did not have to register as a sex offender for a previous rape conviction because he was a confidential informant for the FBI.

"Were women in Santa Fe at risk of not being able to check the Internet and see whether this guy was a convicted sex offender because the FBI told him he could hide that from people in the community?" Donatelli asked.

Angela Damron of Crossville, Tenn., accuses Jody Hugh Deere of Ardmore, Okla., of raping her at Deere's ex-wife's house on Governor Dempsey Drive on April 9, 2009, while she was unconscious, possibly because she was slipped a "date-rape" drug.

Deere's counterclaim, filed last week by his lawyer, former City Councilor Matthew Ortiz, says a toxicology analysis shows no trace of Rohypnol, or any other date-rape drug, in Damron's system, but that she tested positive for alcohol, antidepressants and cocaine.

Deere also is accused of second-degree criminal sexual penetration in connection with the same incident. State District Judge Michael Vigil has scheduled jury selection in the criminal case to begin Sept. 4.

Jason Flores-Williams, Deere's lawyer in the criminal case, previously said Damron and Deere were part of the "Hyde Park party scene," that they had consensual sex several times over the previous two years and that Damron was suing for rape because she is "economically motivated."

Deere's counterclaim says Damron was taking the antidepressant bupropion while bar-hopping with friends, when she saw Deere in the basement of Evangelos Cocktail Lounge, bought him a shot of tequila and asked him if he had any cocaine. Damron said he did not have cocaine with him, according to the document, but after the two danced and kissed, he asked her to accompany him to the house on Governor Dempsey Drive. ..For the rest of this story: by Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican