OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man was arrested on multiple charges last week after allegedly sexually assaulting an intoxicated women in a Little Salisbury residence during an incident in January.
Brett Alexander Owen, 33, of Ocean City, was arrested and charged with second-, third-, and fourth-degree sex offenses, along with second-degree assault and the audio and video recording of a victim without her consent following an investigation into the alleged Jan. 22 incident. Around 10:35 a.m. on Jan. 22, an OCPD detective was assigned to investigate the alleged incident.
The detective met with the victim who told police she woke up nude in Owen’s bed and had no memory of traveling to Owen’s resident. The victim told police the last thing she remembered was being at a local bar with several of her friends, along with Owen and one of his friends. The victim told police she woke up nude in Owen’s bed the next morning and had no recollection of how she got there. According to police reports, the victim told detectives she believed she might have been drugged and sexually assaulted by Owen.
The victim told police she got up, dressed and quickly left the residence. She used the GPS on her phone to pinpoint her exact location at the residence on E. Biscayne Drive in the area of 89th Street. She then walked to a nearby business and called a friend for a ride. She was taken to Atlantic General Hospital and police were notified.
The detective met the victim at AGH and observed she had a black eye and bruising around her neck and the victim said she had no idea how she had gotten the injuries. The victim also complained of vaginal pain and a sore back and neck. A sexual assault forensic examination (SAFE) was conducted, resulting in the appearance of trauma to the victim’s private areas. A forensic nurse also collected suspect semen from the victim’s privates.
The detective next met Owen at his residence on Biscayne Drive and the suspect agreed to come to the police station for questioning. Owen admitted that he drove the victim to his residence, but vehemently denied having any sexual contact with her or even touching her. Later, the officer served a search and seizure warrant on Owen’s residence, resulting in the collection of numerous items of evidentiary value including clothing belonging to the victim as well as significant quantities of CDS. Perhaps most importantly, the search resulted in the seizure of Owen’s phone, which included some of the most significant evidence including sexually explicit videos of the male assaulting the victim.
The detective again questioned Owen, who was still in custody during the search. Owen continued to deny having any sexual contact with the victim or even touching her in any way. The detective then presented Owen with a sheet containing four still images from the video collected from his cell phone.
According to police reports, Owen dropped his head and didn’t say anything for several seconds. The detective questioned Owen at length about what had happened to the victim and what sexual acts he had performed on her, but Owen continued to search for answers and avoid the specific questions. Owen continued to be evasive, but eventually admitted he had sexual contact with the victim, but that it had been consensual. He also admitted the two people in the video were himself and the victim and that he had recorded the video. At one point in the interview, Owen admitted he had “made a mistake,” but refused to elaborate on what he meant.