Wednesday, May 15, 2012

A Kansas man whom authorities say kidnapped and raped a Hutchinson woman was out on bond for similar charges in Leavenworth County. Craig Gooch, 27, posted $50,000 bond in March on charges of rape, kidnapping, theft, and a parole violation. He never returned for his April trial date.

Hutchinson Police said on Friday, Gooch got into an unlocked car in a grocery store parking lot and waited for the female owner of the car to return. Once she did, the woman was kidnapped and raped.

A resident in the 300 block of E. 6th St. called police when she suspected something wrong was happening. Police arrived, but the suspect had already released the woman and tried to flee on foot. He was captured a few blocks away.

Gooch served six years in prison for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary in Leavenworth County. His prison term ended this past January, according to state public records. He was granted parole three times during that sentence and absconded each time.

Gooch is currently being held in the Reno County Jail on $500,000 bond. It is unknown if he will be required to return to Leavenworth to face his criminal charges there, or go through the system first in Reno County, where he is currently.