Victim says she woke to Decatur man raping her

Nov. 30—A judge last week increased the bond of a Decatur man who allegedly re-entered a female victim's home to rape her while she slept off a night of drinking following an indictment by a Morgan County grand jury in late September.

According to data, about half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol use by one or both parties. In almost all cases of sexual assault, according to Crisis Services of North Alabama, there is some prior connection between the perpetrator and the victim.

Miguel Angel Crisantos, 29, remained in Morgan County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of a $40,000 bond, accused of two counts of first-degree rape and one count of second-degree burglary, according to jail records.

The victim of the alleged Feb. 10 rape initially reported the crime to Decatur police on Feb. 11, according to an investigator's affidavit.

On April 11, a judge authorized a search warrant to obtain a DNA sample from Crisantos. The next day, another judge signed off on an arrest warrant for Crisantos.

"(The victim) stated she went to a club with her sister ... and met Miguel," the affidavit reads. "(The victim) advised she became extremely intoxicated."

The victim told investigators that Crisantos followed her sister and her to a residence after departing the club and that at some point Crisantos was asked to leave the residence.

"Miguel told Detective (Macey) Knight he exited the residence and then re-entered the residence by climbing into (the victim's) bedroom window," the affidavit reads. "Miguel stated he had sex with (the victim)."

The victim told investigators she woke up to find Crisantos having sex with her and that he then exited the residence by climbing out of the window, according to the affidavit.

Records show Crisantos was taken into custody the same day his arrest warrant was issued and has remained in jail since.

Alabama law defines first-degree rape as sex with another person by force or sex with another person who is incapable of consent by reason of being incapacitated. The crime is a class A felony punishable by a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.

Crisantos' bond was set at $20,000 in April. Based on court records, Crisantos' indictment added a second count of first-degree rape involving the same victim.

On Friday, Circuit Judge Stephen Brown ordered bond for the second rape charge to also be set at $20,000.

Brown set the case for arraignment on Jan. 9.

Divorce proceedings initiated by Crisantos' second and most recent wife in May note April 12 as the day the couple separated. They were married in 2019, according to the divorce complaint, which alleges Crisantos committed adultery. The marriage was dissolved in August.

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Victims of sexual assault

Around half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by one or both parties, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University. Eleven percent of women in the United States have experienced an alcohol- or drug-facilitated rape, and an overwhelming majority of alcohol-facilitated sexual assaults of women are perpetrated by someone they know.

"Alcohol obviously is the No. 1 component of a drug-facilitated sexual assault," said Liana Hill, program manager of the forensic nurse program at Crisis Services of North Alabama (CSNA). "As far as the clients we see, we do see patients that have used alcohol or been given drugs without their consent, but for a majority alcohol is not a component — it's more about that power and control."

In Hill's experience as a forensic nurse, she said there's virtually always some connection between the victim and the perpetrator of a sexual assault.

"Even when we look at stranger rape, there's some connection between that victim and perpetrator," she said. "An example I give is you've got a classroom of students at university — the victim may not know that perpetrator, but the perpetrator is in the same class, knows about that person, where they are — there's some sort of connection."

In addition to serving Madison, Limestone and Jackson Counties, CSNA provides all of Morgan County's sexual assault services. Beyond its forensic nurse program, the nonprofit offers help to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault through counseling services, support groups, a 24/7 help line, community outreach and other efforts.

Hill and her staff of nine forensic nurses see roughly 30 sexual assault patients per month. Some patients are referred to CSNA by hospitals or law enforcement; others reach out for help privately. Hill recommends victims reach out to CSNA.

"If you're not sure what you want to do, you should consult someone and they can help you work through what's best for you in the situation," she said. "Our crisis line can put you through to any of our departments. They (victims) can call that number and get a forensic nurse to consult about their options, consult one of the counselors."

Hill said people can have a rape kit collected and services provided without law enforcement involvement. Once evidence is collected, with or without law enforcement, that evidence must be kept in a repository for 20 years.

The most important factor in collecting evidence after a sexual assault is timing, according to Hill. A rape kit can only be used within 72 hours after the assault.

It's important that a victim not do anything that would interfere with potential evidence.

"Technically, their body is a crime scene, but that's not nice for a person to hear," she said. "Don't eat or drink. Don't smoke a cigarette, chew gum, anything that could potentially change that evidence — (don't) shower, change clothes."

CSNA can still provide services to victims outside of the 72-hour window.

"We can't collect that physical evidence, but we can make sure that their body is OK," Hill said. "We can check them for sexually transmitted infections and get them into those counseling and therapy services that are really important to these patients."

Each time a forensic nurse responds to a case, they are accompanied by a crisis advocate.

"The advocate is always with the client," said CSNA development manager Karen Gann. "They're there to answer questions, make them feel more at ease, watch for signs of distress, make sure that the client understands that the advocate is, by nature of their job, going to advocate for them.

"They've already been through something traumatic, and we try our best to not retraumatize them when they come in here, because sometimes we have to do pretty invasive exams to gather evidence."

While a nurse at a typical practice might fill an emotional support role, Gann explained, forensic nurses remain impartial during exams as they are collecting evidence and can be compelled to testify in court.

"The advocate kind of picks up that role," Gann said. "We don't discuss anything with anybody. Some of the situations can be quite difficult, what you see and what you hear, so a lot of times we will debrief with another employee. We don't say the name or anything, it's just to kind of get it out of our heads because it's traumatic in itself for us, too."

The exams are dictated by the patient, according to Hill and Gann. If the patient doesn't want a piece of clothing taken into evidence or an area of their body swabbed, they maintain that choice.

CSNA staff follows up with patients for up to a year after their assault and can offer counseling from their full-time social worker or referrals to other counselors.

People interested in accessing any of CSNA's services can call their help line: 256-716-1000.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino