State police are continuing a rape investigation that led to the Thursday arrest of a Homer man, according to police.
Drew L. Stafford, 22, of Homer was arrested for first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse at the Homer barracks on Rt. 281, stated Public Information Officer Trooper Aga Dembinska today in an email.
Stafford went to the station on his own and was arrested at 9:58 a.m., arraigned virtually and released by court order, Dembinska said. He is required to report to Alternatives to Incarceration and his next Homer Town Court date is Nov. 24.
The attack was reported to State troopers on July 11 and officers opened an investigation, according to the agency. Troopers determined the rape occured in July in Homer, Dembinska said.
In addition to rape and sex abuse charges, Stafford was charged with misdemeanor unlawfullly dealing with a child for providing alcohol to a person under the age of 21, she said.
Both first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse can be levied against a person who forces sexual intercourse with another whom is physically helpless, according to state penal law. It is also charged in cases where the defendant is accused of using physical force or a threat of force to perpetrate the attack, the law notes.
A second Homer man was also charged with providing alcohol to a person younger than 21 in the case, according to state police. Police arrested Brandon Aylesworth, 21, at 3:35 p.m. Thursday after he went to the Homer barracks, Dembinska said. Aylesworth was charged with misdemeanor unlawfully dealing with a child and was released on a ticket to appear on Oct. 20 in Homer Town Court at a later date, according to state police.
Aylesworth was the pitcher for the Tompkins Cortland Community College 2019 baseball team, according to the TC3 website.
Stafford also took classes from the fall of 2016 to the fall of 2017, but did not graduate, said TC3 Public Information Officer Peter Voorhees. Aylesworth graduated with his associate’s degree from TC3 in Spring 2020, Voorhees said. They did not attend college at the same time, according to college records.
