Two Columbus men charged with nearly a dozen sex crimes appear in Recorder’s Court

Two Columbus men charged with multiple sex crimes in unrelated cases had preliminary hearings Friday in Recorder’s Court.

The first hearing was for Timothy Buckner, 36, charged with two counts of rape and one count each of aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, sodomy and false imprisonment.

Detective Mark Scruggs testified that on March 16, a woman who first told police a man had chased her later revealed she had been sexually assaulted and held against her will.

The woman, who had been in relationship with Buckner, reported that the two got into an argument when she visited his residence, where Buckner pushed her down and forced her to go into his home.

Buckner first ordered her to perform oral sex on him, then raped her before forcing her to shower and brush her teeth, Scruggs said.

Later that evening, Buckner raped her again, using a sex toy, Scruggs said. Because the assaults occurred at two separate and distinct times, Buckner was charged with two counts of rape, the detective said.

The woman finally was able to flee after a second argument with Buckner, he said.

Second case

In the second court hearing, Dominique McIver, 20, faced charges of statutory rape, aggravated child molestation, sodomy, enticing a child for indecent purposes, computer pornography and child exploitation.

Scruggs testified that around noon on Jan. 16, police were dispatched to a Columbus residence where a mother reported finding her 13-year-old daughter in bed with a man later identified as McIver. When the mother walked into the room, McIver fled through a second-floor window, Scruggs said.

Investigators discovered McIver and the girl had started out as friends, but later became involved romantically and sexually, Scruggs testified.

They communicated more than 400 times on Facebook, including messages about how in love they were, the detective said. After his arrest, McIver admitted he knew the girl was 13, but had sex with her anyway, Scruggs said.

Judge Julius Hunter bound both cases over to Superior Court without bond, ordering both suspects to have no contact with the victims or their families.