HISTORY

Planned Parenthood Shooting Suspect Charged with Rape in 1992

Early complaint against Planned Parenthood suspect.

The man who allegedly opened fire Friday at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic was charged with rape in South Carolina back in 1992. According to the Charleston Post Courier, Robert Lewis Dear, a Charleston native, was arrested Dec. 31, 1992, and charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. No disposition appears on the suspected gunman's official criminal record, suggesting the rape charge was eventually dismissed at an undetermined date. According to the criminal complaint, a woman who worked at Citadel Mall told police that Dear had asked her out numerous times, despite her repeated refusals. He'd continue to call her at work and home multiple times per day. And then in late November of 1992, he allegedly went to the woman's home, put a knife to her throat, and struck her in the mouth before sexually assaulting her. The woman said Dear dragged her from the couch to a bedroom where he continued the alleged assault.