Texas man, 38, jailed on rape, other charges
WEST SUNBURY — A Texas man is accused of sexually assaulting a Louisiana woman during a get-together with fellow co-workers for a Georgia company Saturday night at a home on Main Street.
Eric D. Hignight, 38, of New Boston is being held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail on rape and other charges.
State police said a neighbor called 911 about 9:30 p.m. to report hearing a woman screaming that she had been raped. The neighbor told authorities that the woman left in a pickup truck.
Troopers came upon the truck while heading to the home, according to court documents. The woman told police that Hignight had raped her.
She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a medical examination.
A female trooper later that night at the hospital interviewed the accuser, who recounted what happened.
She said that she arrived about 6 p.m. at the defendant's house to socialize with him and several others, including two people who live there.
The employees are working in the area on oil-drilling projects, police said.
The woman advised that she and her colleagues had been eating and drinking when she went into the bathroom in the basement.
She accused Hignight of opening the door, entering the room and locking the door behind him.
“He raped me,” the woman said, according to a police affidavit. “I tried to stop him but I couldn't. He overpowered me.”
The woman claimed that when she tried to scream, the defendant placed his hand over her mouth, documents said.
Following the assault, the woman told the trooper Hignight threw her to the ground and kicked her in the stomach.
She said another man at the gathering heard her cries and came to her aid. He got her into his pickup truck and was taking her to the hospital when police encountered them.
District Judge Dave Kovach arraigned Hignight on felony charges of rape and aggravated indecent assault. He also is charged with indecent assault, simple assault and harassment.
