Alleged rapist taken into custody

Eric Dwayne Woods was arrested Wednesday in connection with an alleged rape that happened in August.

Cape Girardeau Police Department public information officer Darin Hickey confirmed that Woods, 26, of Caruthersville, Missouri, was taken into custody from a Cape Girardeau home at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. He was arrested without incident.

Charges were filed against Woods on Aug. 14 in connection with an assault and rape that took place in Cape Girardeau two days earlier.

Woods was charged with first-degree rape, assault, burglary and felonious restraint. He has been at large for about two weeks.

A probable-cause statement says an officer responded to a call on South Benton Street near the corner of Independence on Aug. 12 for a report of a domestic assault in progress. The officer spoke with the victim, who told him Woods, the father of her children, arrived at her home about 1 p.m. demanding money. The victim had an ex-parte order of protection against Woods.

She told Woods to leave, the statement said, but he forced his way into her home and "assaulted her numerous times over a period of approximately one hour, striking her numerous times on her head, face and back with his fists, while preventing her from leaving the residence."

The victim said that at one point, she was holding her 7-month-old son when Woods struck her, causing her to drop the infant onto her bed. The child was uninjured.

She managed to escape the house, according to the statement, but Woods pushed her down and forced her into the bedroom, where he raped her.

She eventually escaped again and Woods chased her, striking her in front of witnesses and fleeing the scene before police arrived.

Bond for Woods has been set at $100,000 cash-only and with the special condition that he have no contact with the victim.

Pertinent address:

South Benton Street, Cape Girardeau