A New Hampshire town official was charged with abducting and raping a New York City woman lured to his lakefront home by the promise of a fresh start in a new town.
Jeffrey Gray, who avoided arrest for two weeks by checking himself into a veterans' hospital, was jailed Thursday on charges of kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment and assault.
The elected planning board member attacked the 34-year-old victim after responding to her craigslist ad, where she was seeking a new home in New England, authorities charged.
Gray, 48, convinced the woman to visit his rented Windham, N.H., home on March 5. Police said she was instead taken captive, raped and held for three days before Gray drove her to Boston's Logan International Airport.
Instead of boarding a plane on March 9, the victim approached a state trooper and detailed her terrifying stay at Gray's lakefront home in a quiet town of 15,000.
The suspect, who was arraigned by video on Wednesday from the Rockingham County jail, has a rap sheet that includes criminal threatening and criminal mischief.
There were also several restraining orders filed against him - including one filed by an ex-girlfriend who claimed Gray threatened her and her children, local court officials said.
The unsuspecting woman came to Windham after a computer conversation with Gray about her search for a new home. She was later treated for minor injuries at Massachusetts General Hospital and released.
Landlord Kevin Bleeker, who rented the house to Gray, was distraught over the allegations.
"I thought he was pretty reputable," Bleeker said. "I should have done a background check. I would have found he had a long history of problems with women."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/31/2011-03-31_nyc_woman_lured_over_craigslist_to_new_hampshire_home_where_man_raped_imprisoned.html#ixzz1IE8eJJkq
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