A convicted sex offender is back in jail after he was accused of raping a woman behind an auto parts store Thursday morning.
Scottie K. Townsend, 29, of 125 Buckner St., is charged with first-degree rape and tampering with physical evidence. He is being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
According to court documents, the woman reported the incident shortly after midnight Thursday morning.
She told Winchester Police detectives that she was walking along Highland Street near NAPA Auto Parts when a man with black glasses and a black leather coat approached her and asked for a cigarette. The woman said he then grabbed her by the hair, pulled her behind the store and raped her. She said she escaped, but left some of her clothes and her purse behind.
Detectives spotted Townsend later that day and arrested him on an outstanding warrant. During the investigation, they went to his residence and found the woman’s purse in his back yard, Winchester Police¿Detective Dennis Briscoe wrote in the arrest citation. The woman also identified Townsend from a lineup.
During his arraignment Monday in Clark District Court, he pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing will take place at a later date.
According to court records, Townsend has two previous convictions for failing to comply with sex offender registration statutes, one in Powell County in January and another from Clark County in 2010. Both of those charges stem from his 2005 conviction of first-degree sexual abuse in Clark County. He was later sentenced to two years in prison.
Contact Fred Petke at fpetke@winchestersun.com.
