A woman told a jury Monday that an off-duty Yuma police officer related to her by marriage raped her during a visit to her family home in San Diego last year.
The woman — then 23 — testified that 34-year-old Jared Elkins came into her room and sexually assaulted her in her bed the morning of Sept. 15, 2017, after they and two other family members had gone to dinner, had drinks and watched a movie.
The alleged victim said she threatened to scream, but Elkins threatened to kill her if she did.
“I was terrified beyond belief,” the woman testified. “I knew that if he was capable of raping me, he was capable of killing me.”
She said she turned on her side and pretended to be drunk and unconscious, but alleged that Elkins raped her anyway.
“I told him no so many times,” the woman testified.
She said she waited until she thought Elkins had gone to sleep in the next room, then woke up her mother and the two of them jumped out a window and ran.
At a hospital, the alleged victim’s blood-alcohol level was determined to be .09 percent, according to witness testimony.
Elkins faces nine felony charges, including forcible rape. The seven-year veteran of the Yuma Police Department — who later resigned — faces 14 years in prison if convicted, according to Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox.
— City News Service