Armengau denies sexual assaults as charges added
Grand jury returns indictment with multiple counts of rape, sexual battery and kidnapping involving five women
Javier Armengau
“There is a viable defense for each allegation,” Frederick Benton said at a bond hearing for Armengau. “We anticipate that he will prevail on each and every allegation.”
Armengau, 51, faces six counts of rape, five counts of sexual battery, three counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of kidnapping and one count of public indecency in an indictment returned yesterday by a Franklin County grand jury.
An arrest warrant was issued with the indictment, and Armengau turned himself in before noon. He waived his appearance at an afternoon bond hearing.
Common Pleas Judge Kim Brown set a $25,000 appearance bond and a $50,000 recognizance bond. He bonded out of the Franklin County jail last night.
An investigation was launched after the mother of one of Armengau’s clients told police that the lawyer grabbed her breasts and exposed himself to her during a meeting in his Brewery District office on April 4. Armengau had been representing Jeffery Collins, one of three men who recently pleaded guilty in the shooting death of a Dublin gas-station clerk.
Collins’ mother, Catherine Collins, told her story to The Dispatch and was willing to be identified.
Shortly after Armengau was arrested on charges of gross sexual imposition and public indecency in that case, two other women came forward with similar complaints, Columbus police said.
Armengau denied the initial allegations and was released on bond. Prosecutors said Armengau made “incriminating statements” in conversations with Mrs. Collins during a telephone call and at a dinner meeting, both of which were secretly recorded by investigators.
The indictment names Collins and four other victims. One woman’s allegations resulted in five counts of rape, four counts of sexual battery and one count of kidnapping for incidents alleged to have occurred from January 2002 to December 2008.
Another woman was assaulted between January 1998 and December 2010, the indictment alleges.
In addition to Mrs. Collins, the victims cited in the indictment are another mother of a former client, one former employee and two former clients, according to the Ohio attorney general’s office.
The attorney general is serving as special prosecutor in the case to avoid a conflict for the county prosecutor’s office, which deals frequently with Armengau as opposing counsel in criminal cases.
At yesterday’s hearing, Assistant Attorney General Sarah Schenck told the judge that bond should be “increased significantly” over what was set in the original case because of the additional victims in the indictment. Armengau paid 10 percent of $10,000 to be released after his first arrest.
Benton argued that Armengau is not a flight risk, has surrendered his passport and willingly turned himself in, and has professional obligations to many clients in an active law practice.
“His clients continue to express faith in him,” Benton said after the hearing. “There has been a groundswell of support not only from them, but from the community. A lot of people believe in him, despite the allegations.”
Armengau, a lawyer since 1998, lives at 4891 Rays Circle in Hilliard, according to court records.
jfutty@dispatch.com
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