Trial No. 2 for a Davie officer
accused of raping a family member is set for Monday — more than four years
after he was arrested and charged with the crime.
Stephen Olenchak, 38, was
arrested in March 2009 on charges he drugged and sexually assaulted a family
member, then 19, while his wife and 4-year-old son slept next to them in the
same bed.
Defense attorney Jim Lewis says
he plans to call a psychiatrist to the stand to testify that Olenchak's accuser
was likely in a "dream state" and imagined the incident.
The trial, in front of Broward
Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson, is expected to last a week.
It will be Olenchak's second
trial.
The first ended in a mistrial
two years ago after it was discovered a juror had brought research materials
into the jury room.
During the first trial,
Olenchak took the stand and claimed the alleged victim had seduced him.
The woman, now 23, is not being
named by the Sun Sentinel because of the nature of the charge.
Olenchak is still an officer
with the Davie Police Department, but has been suspended without pay pending
the outcome of the trial.
In January 2012, prosecutors
upgraded the charge to sexual battery on a helpless victim after Olenchak
rejected a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for three years.
If convicted of the
first-degree felony, Olenchak could face up to 30 years in prison.
Olenchak and his wife separated
soon after the incident, but have not yet divorced.
In the first trial, Olenchak's
wife and accuser testified that he drugged them the evening of March 22, 2009.
Olenchak gave his wife a
Crystal Light drink and she soon fell asleep. He brought the alleged victim a
glass of milk.
Soon, she felt "out of
it," as if in a trance, she said.
She told police that she felt
Olenchak behind her, touching her underwear. Unable to scream or move, she told
police "it was like I was dreaming and in a daze."
At some point, Olenchak's wife
got up and went to the bathroom but seemed to be in a "zombie" state,
according to the alleged victim.
Olenchak was arrested four days
later after the woman told his wife about the incident.
That evening, Davie police
recorded a cellphone conversation between Olenchak and his accuser. During the
tearful exchange, Olenchak apologized, records show.
"Oh my God, I can't
believe it," he told the alleged victim. "I'm so sorry."
He begged her not to tell
anyone.
"Don't tell. You don't
tell anybody," he said. "Nobody has to know."