LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Sept. 23, 2013)—The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office today released the following incident and arrest reports.
VEHICLE PURSUIT, TRAFFIC ACCIDENT: On September 22 at approximately 4:26 am, Corporal Moritz of the Patrol Division attempted to stop a 2012 Nissan Altima on Route 235 in the area of Friendship School Road in Mechanicsville for exceeding the posted speed limit. Police units attempted to stop the vehicle using lights and sirens; however the vehicle failed to stop and fled northbound on Route 235. The vehicle committed additional traffic violations indicative of the driver being impaired by alcohol and/or drugs and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The vehicle traveled northbound on Route 5 where it made a U turn at the Charles County line and continued southbound on Route 5. Police units attempted to deploy STOP STICKS without success and eventually lost sight of the vehicle in the area of Laurel Grove Park.
The suspect vehicle was subsequently located on Queen Tree Road in the area of Jesse Drive. The vehicle had left the roadway and struck a tree head on. The driver was located with substantial injuries and flown to Prince George's Shock Trauma by Maryland State Police Trooper 7. An application for charges is pending his release.
Paul T. Stewart, 38, of no fixed address. (Arrest photo)
RAPE: On September 23 at 5:14 am, Sheriff's Office Patrol Units responded to the report of a sexual assault in Leonardtown. The female victim reported she had been sexually assaulted by a male subject she was familiar with inside her residence. Deputies contacted the Commander Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and detectives assumed the investigation.
The victim stated that Paul T. Stewart, 38, of no fixed address, knocked on her door and requested to spend the night due to having no place to go. The victim was familiar with Stewart and allowed him into her residence and directed him to sleep on the couch. The victim stated she was later awakened as she was being sexually assaulted by Stewart. The victim was able to flee from Stewart and call police. Stewart subsequently fled the residence on foot and was unable to be located following an extensive search of the area by patrol and K-9 units.
At 11:48 am, Stewart was taken into custody by detectives and charged with 2nd Degree Rape, 3rd Degree Sex Offense, 4th Degree Sex Offense and 2nd Degree Assault. Stewart was incarcerated in the St. Mary's County Detention Center pending an appearance before the District Court Commissioner.
Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://somd.me/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://somd.me/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://somd.me/expungeme .