Columbia man convicted of raping homeless woman

A Boone County jury took just 15 minutes to find a Columbia man guilty of raping a homeless woman in a city park last July.

The victim took the stand to testify about the morning of July 8. She said she was sleeping in Lions-Stephens Park, at 104 N. William St, when Daniel W. Coffman, 46, whom she knew slightly from a soup kitchen, approached her and began rubbing her back.

The 19-year-old woman’s voice dropped almost to a whisper as she described how Coffman laid down next to her on the floor of the pavilion and then raped her. The woman, who is petite, said she struggled with Coffman, but he did not stop until he heard people coming. Then he moved away from the victim and fell asleep nearby, she said.

The victim said she had come to Columbia from Fulton to find a job, and her boyfriend, who had also slept in the park that night under a picnic pavilion, had already left for work.

Coffman, who pleaded not guilty to the crime in October 2006, did not testify during the trial, heard by Judge Jodie Asel.

Coffman’s public defenders called no witnesses. Assistant Prosecutor Richard Hicks brought five witnesses to the stand. They included the victim, Detective Jason Jones and Officer Kyle Lucas of the Columbia Police Department, Trina Simmons of Rocheport, and Timothy Lefleur, who found the victim after the incident occurred.

Lefleur, an employee of Freedom House, at 107 N. William St., said he was walking through the park on his break when he was approached by the victim. She asked him what his definition of rape was, then told him what had happened to her.

Lefleur helped the victim, who was eventually treated at Boone Hospital Center. She reported the incident to Columbia Police that evening.

Coffman’s sentencing is set for March 25.