Man pretended he was gay to lure woman before raping her, prosecutors say

An Atlanta man pretended he was gay to lure his female victim into his home, where he “violently” raped her, prosecutors said.

Taurence Callagain, 36, was convicted by a jury in September 2015 after meeting the unnamed victim at a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority station just weeks earlier, Fulton County prosecutors announced Tuesday.

“They rode the same train and eventually exchanged numbers,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said. “The victim is a lesbian and has a female partner who she was in a relationship with when she met the defendant.”

Callagain gained the victim’s trust by making her believe that he wasn’t interested in women, giving her the impression that he had no intention of starting a sexual relationship, Turner said.

On the night of the attack, the woman missed her last bus, prompting Callagain to offer her a ride home so she wouldn’t have to walk more than a mile to her apartment in Allen Hills.

Turner said Callagain then told the woman that he needed to stop at his home, where the victim thought the pair were going to the man’s bedroom to smoke marijuana. He instead “violently” raped the woman, telling her that he would summon his friends if she resisted, prosecutors said.

“I will get my boys to come in and hold you down,” Callagain told her, according to Turner.

The woman overheard another man’s voice in the home, leaving her terrified that Callagain would make good on his threat if she did not comply.

She later escaped her attacker’s bedroom and fled Callagain’s home, running roughly three miles back to her home, Turner said.

The victim later described Callagain’s bedroom, where her underwear was found in his hamper. Callagain claimed the encounter was consensual, prosecutors said.

The 36-year-old, who has a pending aggravated assault case in Fulton County, has no other criminal history. His sentencing date has not yet been set, according to Turner’s office.

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