East Tennessee man charged with rape, assault, false imprisonment

An East Tennessee man is accused of raping his ex-girlfriend in a Claxton home, shoving her backward and causing her head to go through a sheetrock wall, pointing a pistol at her and himself, and threatening to burn down her house, authorities said.

Robert John Davis, 34, is accused of using the victim’s debit card without permission to withdraw $200, throwing objects and ransacking her house, and telling her she had to have sex with him if she wanted to have her car keys, according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Davis has been charged with rape, aggravated assault, domestic assault, false imprisonment, property theft, unauthorized use of an auto/joyriding, and violation of an order of protection, the warrants said. Davis, who has addresses listed in Powell and Greenback, remains jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, and his bail has been set at $237,500, according to court records.

The victim said Davis came to her home on Friday, December 19, and spent the night, staying until Monday, December 22, according to the warrants. She told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Robert Bryson that she had tried to break up with Davis several times, but he has threatened her. Among the threats, the victim said, were threats to beat in her head and burn down her home.

The victim said Davis wanted to have sex the weekend of December 19-22, but she didn’t want to and she was able to convince him to stop several times.

On Monday morning, Davis allegedly told the victim she would “have to have sex if she wanted the keys,” the warrants said. The victim said she would not be able to get the car keys to leave and get help if she did not consent to sex.

“I begged him not to do this,” she told Bryson. “I didn’t want to have sex.”

The victim, who said she is afraid for her safety, said Davis, who had threatened to kill himself after pointing the pistol at her and himself, later poured gas on her porch and threatened to burn down her home.

More information will be added as it becomes available.