Arraignment was held Thursday morning in Christian District Court for 43-year old Jason Morse of Hopkinsville—the man accused of raping a young woman Tuesday afternoon on the local rail-trail.
Hopkinsville police say the victim had been walking with earbuds in listening to music when Morse allegedly grabbed her from behind in the area of the 3700 block of Bahama Drive. He allegedly raped, choked and threatened to kill the victim and then fled the area on foot.
Christian District Judge Foster Cotthoff read the charges of first-degree rape, strangulation in the first-degree and tampering with evidence and Morse said he understood them.
The judge appointed Morse a public defender and set his bond at half a million dollars cash.
An arrest citation says Morse destroyed evidence after he was informed by a friend that the police were wanting to talk to him about an incident on the rail-trail.