Monday, December 02, 2019

Swafford arrest
A Point Plesant, Newport man, who jumped a $350,000 bond after he was charged with aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping in an alleged violent sexual assault on Nov. 2, is back behind bars in Hamblen County. Christopher Madison Swafford, 41, was taken into custody at a Madison, West Virginia motel on Friday by police and representatives of the bonding company according to Hamblen County authorities. The blue Jeep Wrangler that Swafford bought before fleeing East Tennessee had been spotted in the area, according to investigators. Hamblen County General Sessions Court Judge W. Douglas Collins had issued a failure-to-appear warrant for Swafford after he failed to show up for a court hearing on Nov.14. The defendant had allegedly met a 27-year-old woman at a sports bar in South Hamblen County, and they left the bar together in Swafford’s vehicle. He allegedly beat and raped the victim inside his vehicle. The naked woman eventually escaped from the vehicle and jumped into the Nolichucky River. Investigators say at the time the temperature was 33 degrees. The woman swam some distance before returning to land. The alleged rape victim had severe bruising and cuts on her face and head that allegedly was caused by blunt force trauma. But investigators say Swafford denied sexually assaulting the woman or preventing her from leaving his vehicle.


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