SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Authorities have searched a large southwest Missouri home after women reported they may have been sexually assaulted there, according to court documents.
Deputies from the Greene County Sheriff's Office searched the 200,000-square-foot home in Bois D'Arc outside Springfield last week after one woman raised allegations she had been raped and drugged during a party at the home, The Springfield News-Leader reported Friday (http://sgfnow.co/1CZIceQ).
Authorities who searched the property July 17 collected pills, white powder, bedding, condoms and other items, according to search warrants.
No one has been charged in connection with the search at the home, which also includes a guest home, a 12-car garage, a protected courtyard, an elevator, a pool, a fountain and 13 acres of land.
Documents show the address is owned by James Bonis, who pleaded guilty in April to federal charges of mail fraud and money laundering after federal authorities accused him of importing rifle scopes from China, changing the engravings and selling them with labels that claimed they were made in the United States.
Bonis' lawyer in that case, Nancy Price of Springfield, said her client denies any wrongdoing at the house.
"Our only comment is we are still trying to get to the bottom of this," Price said.
Search warrant documents showed investigators were looking for evidence of non-consensual sex with two women who contacted deputies and "other potential unidentified victims who attended parties at the location." According to the search warrant, one incident occurred March 23 when a distressed woman called a friend and said she didn't know where she was but she had been drugged and raped.
Earlier this month, two other females were also contacted by deputies at a hospital. They said they had been at a party at the home and believed they may have been sexually assaulted, according to the warrant. One of the women said she believed she was also given something other than alcohol, the warrant says.