STAUNTON – A jury deliberated Thursday night for several hours before acquitting a man on a charge of rape after he was accused of sexually assaulting a student inside her dorm room earlier this year at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton.
The jury delivered its verdicts at 1 a.m. on Friday. Alex A.J. Paxton, 24, of Shenandoah, was found not guilty on charges of rape, abduction and forcible sodomy. The jury found Paxton guilty of felony strangulation.
During opening arguments Wednesday, Staunton Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cassondra Baber said Paxton and the student knew one another, and said the defendant had gone to her dorm Feb. 17. During the visit, Baber said Paxton grew angry and began to physically assault the student by choking her before allegedly sexually assaulting her.
Photos showed multiple bruises and scratch marks on the student’s neck.
The woman went to Augusta Health in Fishersville the next day and was examined for signs of a sexual assault.
But DNA evidence was found only on her neck, where defense attorney Louis Nagy said his client had given her “hickies.” Additional DNA evidence wasn’t found “where there absolutely should be DNA,” Nagy said during his closing argument.
A bedsheet where the alleged sexual assault took place also did not contain any DNA evidence.
Thursday in Staunton Circuit Court, Nagy said the woman lied about the incident and said she made numerous inconsistent statements. Phone texts also cast doubt on the allegations, he said.
“She is not to be believed,” Nagy told the jury.
Baber argued the woman was raped, and said she repeatedly told Paxton “no” throughout the incident. She also reminded the jury the victim testified that his hands felt like a “death grip” around her throat.
The jury received the case at about 6:45 p.m. on Thursday and deliberated until 1 a.m. on Friday.
Paxton remains at Middle River Regional Jail. He will be sentenced on the strangulation charge Feb. 10, according to court records.
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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Trial concludes in Staunton, defendant not guilty of rape
