An East Chicago man is facing criminal charges for beating and choking a woman celebrating her birthday until she passed out.
Darion “Dirty” Carter, 51, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery, one count of battery, and two counts of strangulation. He is in custody, held without bail.
In a criminal affidavit, the woman also told investigators that Carter raped her when she was unconscious.
A spokeswoman for the Lake County Prosecutors Office could not respond by deadline with why Carter was not charged with the sexual assault or if a special prosecutor would be appointed.
East Chicago Police responded Jan. 7 to an apartment building.
The woman told police she left a gathering in the commons for her birthday after midnight to repay a neighbor $20. Carter was there.
She refused his offer to walk her to her apartment. Carter tried to “hit on her,” documents state. She left the two men smoking crack.
The victim said Carter followed her and “forced his way” into her apartment. When she asked him to leave, he punched her, shoved her to the ground and choked her until she passed out, documents allege.
She passed out a couple of times, realizing she was being moved around in the apartment. Carter blew smoke in her face, then punched her when she didn’t inhale, charges state.
Officers found traces of blood in the bedroom and bathroom. She estimated he was there for as long as 36 hours, and she called the police when he fell asleep.
Officers found a crack pipe and THC gummies on Carter when they arrested him on the sofa.
Doctors later said the woman had brain bleeds and a broken facial bone.
At the East Chicago Police Department, an officer spotted an open text.
“I hope you know what you’re doing. That woman has gone over to the office. They came up here questioning me. Stay …away from me. Every time (I see you) some dumb (stuff happens),” a witness wrote.
Carter claimed he and the victim had a sexual relationship. He denied beating her.
Police reviewed a 911 call.
“My face is all beat up” and “he won’t leave,” the woman told the dispatcher. “He threatened to kill me. I just want him gone. Hurry, he’s sleeping and I’m afraid he’ll wake up.”
The woman later told police she met Carter that day.
At some point, Carter texted another man, appearing to admit he beat her.
“I ends (sic) up blacking her eye but told her she fell in yo crib,” it read.
