DENVER (AP) - A man appeared in court Wednesday after his arrest on suspicion of raping a woman who was waiting for a flight at Denver International Airport, and her family has raised questions about whether some employees witnessed the attack but didn’t intervene.
The suspect, Noel Alexander Bertrand, 26, of Portland, Ore., was being held in lieu of $50,000 bond. Authorities said he didn’t yet have an attorney.
Authorities said the alleged attack occurred at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in the nearly deserted Concourse A. Family members said the woman had missed a connecting flight Monday evening and had to spend the night at the airport.
Family members said the woman told them three people she believed to be airport employees walked by without helping.
Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said two workers pulled a man off a woman shortly before police officers and airport security personnel arrived, and others saw the incident and telephoned for help but didn’t intervene.
Jackson described those who called as “good witnesses” and said calling authorities is what police advise for anyone witnessing a crime. He said the two people who intervened were airline employees. He declined to identify the airline.
Airport officials believe airport workers, including employees of outside contractors, “responded appropriately,” spokeswoman Jenny Schiavone said.
One of the women’s family members said she gave this account: A man introduced himself and struck up a conversation with her in a restaurant. She left, and the man followed her, sat down beside her and tried to kiss her. When she objected, the man threw her to the floor and assaulted her.
The family members said the woman was flying from her home in Oregon to a convent in Peoria, Ill., to look into a yearlong service program through the Catholic Church. She doesn’t plan to join the convent but is looking for a service activity while she waits to get into a dental hygienist school, they said.
The Associated Press does not use the names of people who report being sexually assaulted unless they agree to be identified. The AP isn’t identifying the family member to protect the woman’s identity.
At his court appearance, Bertrand appeared calm but occasionally wrung papers he was holding. He had a beard and wore yellow prison-issued shirt and pants.
The district attorney’s office said a decision on whether to file formal charges would come later this week.
No one returned telephone messages left at what were believed to be Bertrand’s home in Portland and his family’s home in Vancouver, Wash.
Another Denver TV station reported that a woman who identified herself as Bertrand’s grandmother said Bertrand is a former Marine. One of his previous addresses in public records was a U.S. Marine facility in Japan.
- By Sheila V. Kumar, AP Writer (Associated Press reporter Dan Elliott contributed to this story)
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
