Man who pretended to be gay to befriend a lesbian is convicted of her violent rape
Taurence Callagain told his victim he was gay to convince her she was safe with him, prosecutors said (Fulton County Sheriff’s Department)
An Atlanta man who pretended to be gay to lure a lesbian into a false friendship has now been convicted of her rape.
Taurence Callagain, 36, met his victim at a transit station in August 2015. They regularly travelled on the same commuter train together and Callagain attempted to strike up a friendship with her.
The victim was in a long-term relationship with a woman, and Callagain told her he was also gay, leading her to believe that he had no sexual intentions towards her.
She was “under the impression that their relationship was strictly platonic”, a spokesman for district attorney Paul Howard said in a statement.
On the night she was raped the victim missed the final bus of the night. “Callagain offered to give her a ride home so she did not have to walk a mile-and-a-half to her apartment in Allen Hills,” the spokesman said.
While en route, he told the woman that he needed to stop by his house and pick up some marijuana. Having been lulled into a false sense of safety, she entered his house believing that they were going to smoke some together.
Instead, he pushed her into his bedroom where he choked and violently raped her, and told her that if she fought or screamed he would “get my boys to come in and hold you down”.
“The victim heard a male voice in the house, so she was terrified that if she kept screaming Callagain would, in fact, do as he said,” the district attorney spokesperson added.
The woman eventually escaped and ran three miles back to her home to call for help, prosecutors said.
She was treated at Atlanta Medical Centre and was able to accurately describe to investigators the interior of Callagain’s home. He was arrested after they found her underwear in his laundry hamper.
Taurence Callagain denied all charges against him and claimed that the sex was actually consensual, despite the fact that his victim was a lesbian.
He has been held in the Fulton County Jail since Friday and will be sentenced at a later date.
