Friends and acquaintances of Gyasi Terran came out to support
him immediately after his arrest on sodomy charges earlier this
month, claiming he was a nice heterosexual man who would never rape
a mentally disabled teen. But police interviews with the suspect
and teen depict an awkward sexual encounter based on the promise of
a cigarette, with Terran disclosing his bisexuality and claiming
the early morning encounter was consensual.
Friends and acquaintances of Gyasi Terran came out to support him immediately after his arrest on sodomy charges earlier this month, claiming he was a nice heterosexual man who would never rape a mentally disabled teen. But police interviews with the suspect and teen depict an awkward sexual encounter based on the promise of a cigarette, with Terran disclosing his bisexuality and claiming the early morning encounter was consensual.
The 24-year-old man, known familiarly as “Goo,” is suspected by police of raping a 19-year-old mentally disabled man in the woman’s bathroom of Miller Park about 2:15 a.m. June 4. A San Martin Superior Court judge continued the case until 1:30 p.m. July 15, when Terran is expected to enter a plea.
The teen went to 7-Eleven on First Street searching for a smoke, according to a police report. After discovering he did not have enough cash to buy a pack, the teen walked out to the parking lot to continue his search. Noticing this, Terran, who referred to the 19-year-old as “the hunchback kid,” followed him outside and proffered a cigarette along with an invitation to the nearby park, according to police.
“He agreed to go to Miller Park with the suspect, believing the suspect would share his cigarette with him,” wrote Gilroy Police Department Officer Hank Snow in his report after interviewing the teen later that morning.
Inside the dark, unoccupied woman’s bathroom – where Terran told the teen police would not see them – the two passed a cigarette back and forth, according to the 19-year-old. While he told police the two went into the woman’s room because Terran noticed someone in the men’s room, Terran denied anyone else was there.
As the awkward sexual encounter ensued, the teen told police he never said “stop” or “no” out of fear, but he did say “no” sometime before the incident ended. The sequence of events was hazy, he told police. When police responded to the 911 call from 7-Eleven, he had a silver dollar-size lump on his forehead and squirmed in pain in the police car, according to the report.
Terran broke down during his interview and requested a psychological evaluation because he should not be doing this sort of thing, he told police.
“(Terran) became upset, started crying and talking about the problems he has had with his family and growing up,” the report stated.
Terran described the events twice to police, according to the report. The first version was slightly inconsistent with the teen’s version of the events, but the second version was much closer to the teen’s allegations, police said.
“I told him I did not know why he felt the need to lie the first time. (Terran) replied that he did not want to go to prison,” wrote officer Michael Beebe.
Yet, Terran and the teen disagree on two key elements of the story: while the teen said that he told Terran to stop and that there was penetration, however slight, Terran denied both of these things.
Police arrested Terran on suspicion of battery and resisting arrest in late May and on warrants for the same charges in November.
Police collected DNA evidence from both the teen and Terran.
Victims of sexual assault can call Community Solutions’ 24-hour crisis line at (408) 779-2115. The assistance agency in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, 6980 Chestnut St., provides intensive treatment and residential care, 24-hour crisis intervention, confidential shelter and support services, school and community counseling services, legal advocacy, and prevention and education programs, according to its Web site.
