Prosecute Strip rape, beating to the fullest

Police have accused David Randell Ferren, 19, of beating and raping a 65-year-old Strip hotel maid Nov. 1, asserting they found bloody clothing related to the crime in his possession.

Ferren came forward to say he was the person seen on a surveillance video, released to the media by police, of a man leaving Bally’s. He denied he knew anything about a sexual assault.

The arrest report says the maid was punched in the face as she was entering a guest room, forced into the room and assaulted, but that the assailant was not the guest registered in the room. In fact, police say the assailant fled when the occupant of the room returned.

DNA tests may determine whether blood on the clothing matches the maid’s blood. Employees of the hotel say security personnel who were once stationed at elevators and in the employee parking lot have been cut over the past decade.

There’s a reason why the courts allow a defendant to challenge the state’s case, of course. Ferren is entitled to a presumption of innocence.

But a medical examination did confirm a rape had occurred, and that the victim suffered injuries to the face and head. This is a heinous crime against a worker who had no reason to expect such an assault at that time and place. The crime would be disturbing under any circumstances, but in a city that makes its living from tourism, the implication that hotel guests could be equally vulnerable could have obvious, widespread ramifications.

In tough economic times, staff reductions are inevitable. For that matter, no affordable security system is perfect. Certainly no hotel can station a security guard in every corridor, 24 hours a day. But all hotel properties should now be reviewing their security arrangements, for both guests and staff, in light of this incident.

And most of all, always allowing for due process, prosecutors should pursue this case with the utmost vigor. It can’t be tolerated, and it shouldn’t be treated as routine in any way. Rigorous efforts must now be shown to avoid any potential repetition.