New trial sought in rape after buddy confesses

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

A lawyer for a Marine convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a Las Vegas woman two years ago says another Marine has confessed to the crime.

Deputy Public Defender Dianne Dickson said that in a "Perry Mason moment," Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan Fulton confessed last week it was he, not Raymond Flores, who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman in August 1999.

Flores, 22, was sentenced last fall to 10 to 25 years in prison for the assault on the woman, a 32-year-old mother of three. A jury convicted him on one count of sexual assault and acquitted him on a sodomy count because of a lack of physical evidence.

Fulton's confession has prompted Dickson to ask District Judge Kathy Hardcastle to grant Flores a new trial. A hearing on the matter has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 5.

But prosecutors say Fulton's confession does not exonerate Flores, because of physical evidence against Flores. Both could be responsible, Deputy District Attorney William Kephart said.

The district attorney's office is considering charging Fulton with sexual assault and perjury, Kephart said. He could face a life prison term if convicted.

However, the DNA evidence still links Flores to one of the sexual assaults on the woman, Kephart said.

Dickson said she has been told the Marine Corps also intends to prosecute Fulton for rape, sodomy and using LSD on the day of the incident.

Fulton and Flores were stationed at Nellis Air Force base at the time of the incident for Red Flag exercises. The two shared a room at a local hotel near the base.

The woman testified that she was out with friends when she ran into Flores, a friend of her boyfriend's, at a local nightclub. The last thing she remembers before waking up the next morning in Flores' bed was drinking a tequila he had bought for her.

Suspecting she had been drugged and raped, the woman went to the hospital, and the police were called. An examination revealed the woman had been sexually assaulted and sodomized.

DNA tests linked Flores to the sexual assault.

Fulton's confession, providing intimate details of that night, explained the lack of physical evidence from the sodomy, Dickson said.

As for the DNA found on the underwear, Dickson argued at trial and still maintains that it was transferred from Flores' bed, where he had recently engaged in sexual activities.

Dickson said the Marine Corps was getting ready to terminate Flores when a military prosecutor decided to question Fulton.

Fulton confessed that he'd had consensual sex with the victim. Then, in a second interview, he admitted to sodomizing her while she was unconscious.

"I don't want to be considered a rapist, and that is why I have not been truthful to this point," Fulton wrote in his statement. "I have come forward with the complete truth now. I am sorry for lying to everybody about this. What I did was wrong and am willing to own up to my own actions."

Fulton said in the statement that he hopes Flores will be able to get out of prison and back home "where he belongs."

"As far as Ray having sex with (the victim) that evening in the bedroom, I can say for sure there is no way that happened. Ray was totally passed out and was in no condition to have sex with anybody," Fulton said.

Dickson said Flores is now considered a Marine "in good standing."

"My client is just a wonderful person," Dickson said. "He's someone I'd be proud to be my son. I've believed from the beginning that he is absolutely innocent."