Former Drury coach to spend a day or 2 in jail for raping student

A former assistant men's and women's tennis coach at Drury University will spend a day or two in jail after a jury sentenced him Thursday for a raping a student in May.

According to court documents filed by police, Marko Boskovic and the woman, both Drury students at the time, were at a party on Drury's campus before he walked her home at about 1:30 a.m.

When she got to her home, however, the woman realized she didn't have her keys, so Boskovic offered to let her stay at his place, according to court documents.

What happened then — whether consensual sex or rape took place — was disputed this week in Judge Thomas Mountjoy's courtroom before a jury comprising nine men and three women.

Ultimately the jury convicted and sentenced Boskovic to 10 days in a county jail and a fine to be determined by the court. Mountjoy said records show Boskovic had spent either eight or nine days in jail after being charged, so he will only have to serve a day or two for his sentence.

An attorney for Boskovic said he may be filing an appeal.

Boskovic is a 25-year-old Serbian national who was a graduate student at Drury at the time of the rape.

The victim was present at the sentencing and took the stand.

She recalled seeing the media coverage of the trial and the online comments that followed.

"(The comments said) that I was a slut," she said. "That I deserved it ... That I probably wanted it."

At one point the woman said she asked her mother to take her to the hospital.

"I've never been suicidal, but I've had panic attacks," she said.

The victim was then questioned by Boskovic's attorney, Dee Wampler.

When she was questioned by Wampler, the woman said she had wanted Boskovic fired, not prosecuted.

Wampler pointed out she had already accomplished that. He also noted the victim's name was not included in any media coverage.

"I'm sure most people at Drury know," she said.

Wampler countered that Boskovic has had his name and face "plastered" all across the media.

When asked about conditions of Boskovic's bond, the victim said she didn't want him out of jail because she didn't feel safe.

When Boskovic took the stand next, Wampler told him, "You look nervous."

Boskovic replied, "I'm scared."

Boskovic said that since being charged, he has had to live in a motel where he was under house arrest. He only recently moved into an apartment, Boskovic said, and it was the only place that would accept him because of the charges facing him.

He said he's struggled to find employment and that news of the rape trial has even reached Serbia. When he spent time during in the Greene County Jail, Boskovic said an inmate threatened to beat him to death.

Throughout questioning by the prosecution, Boskovic maintained his innocence.

"I want to say that I'm innocent. That I didn't do this," he said.

When Wampler asked his client if wanted to apologize to the woman he was convicted of raping, Boskovic apologized — but for shouting at her the night of the rape.

"I'm not saying I raped her. I never did that," he said. "I never raped her. I never choked her."

Boskovic said he planned to earn a master's degree in business administration and become a U.S. citizen, but now he wants to go back to Serbia.

"Send me home," he told the jury.

Before finding Boskovic guilty, the jury deliberated for about four hours Thursday after listening to closing arguments touching on Boskovic's history with the victim as well as the victim's trustworthiness and her drinking habits.

Nathan Chapman, the prosecuting attorney, gave his closing arguments Thursday.

Chapman said this case doesn't fit the stereotypical idea of rape: The victim and Boskovic were friends, they had kissed once before, and they had slept in the same bed before.

"She kissed him one time — one time," Chapman said. "She never wanted to have sex with him."

For a conviction of rape, three things have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Chapman said: There was sex, it was non-consensual, and the perpetrator knew it was non-consensual.

That night in May, the woman went back to Boskovic's room and went to bed together, he said. When the woman turned over, Chapman said, she saw Boskovic with his pants off.

Chapman recounted the victim's testimony, quoting her as saying: "If you're going to (expletive) me, put on a (expletive) condom."

Chapman said the "comment sounds a little weird," but it wasn't consent. Soon after, Boskovic was having sex with her while she lay face-down, crying, Chapman said.

"It doesn't get more non-consensual than that," he said.

And Boskovic knew it was non-consensual, Chapman said. Boskovic had made advances before that night, but each time she rebuffed him.

Chapman replayed parts of a recorded phone conversation between Boskovic and the victim.

The victim could be heard saying: "You always tried, but you never actually did it ... I'm so scared of you, Marko."

During the recorded exchange, Boskovic was apologetic to the victim.

Then it was the defense attorneys' turn to speak.

Joe Passanise told the jury that his client had been dishonorable and insensitive to the woman, but he didn't rape her.

"A felony is forever," Passanise said.

Passanise argued the victim was upset not because she was raped, but because Boskovic kicked her out of his room after they had sex.

The victim is a smart woman, he said, "but smart women can get their feelings hurt."

"Buyer's remorse — that's what this is," Passanise said. "Buyer's remorse."

Passanise went over the woman's testimony and the testimony of other witnesses, saying at one point she claimed to be "traumatized" but later denied that. He brought up that she ended an interview with police by saying "don't arrest him."

"This woman was a teaser," he said, saying she messaged Boskovic and slept naked in bed with him.

"She has controlled this every step of the way," Passanise said. "She was teasing him, flirting with him."

Boskovic hurt her feelings, Passanise said, so "find him guilty of that."

He ended his argument by paraphrasing an English playwright: "'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' and that's what we have here."

Passanise's law partner, Wampler, then began his arguments.

He criticized the prosecuting attorney for sneaking the victim into the courtroom at night to practice her testimony.

"I'd love to have seen a video of that," Wampler said.

He said that there were no bruises or abrasions on the victim and noted she didn't have a rape kit done. He pointed out that there were several police officers in the area the night of the rape, but she did not immediately report it.

"Is that what rape looks like?" he asked the jury.

Wampler also pointed out the victim was taller than Boskovic.

"This is a tough gal," he said. "This isn't some innocent, little, wallflower girl."

She could have stormed out of Boskovic's room if she wanted to, Wampler said.

He also said that while the woman was drinking that night, she was still cognizant, calling her a "semi-professional drinker."

Chapman objected, but the judge overruled it.

"She day drinks," Wampler said. "She has a good tolerance."

Wampler also said it was the woman who messaged Boskovic first.

"She was the one showing interest in him," he said.

Of course, Boskovic showed interest back, Wampler said — he's 25 and has hormones.

"That's what men do," he said.

Wampler ended his arguments, telling the jury "his young life is in your hands."

Chapman then rebutted the defense attorneys, criticizing them for bashing the victim.

Chapman compared Wampler and the language he used to describe the victim to the period TV drama "Mad Men."

"We're going back there?" Chapman asked, saying Wampler spoke as if he were in a "1950s good ole boy club."

Chapman defended practicing with the victim, saying that of course he had prepared her to take the stand, where she was essentially called a "slut" over several hours.

He told the jury members that it doesn't matter if they find the reactions of the victim in the aftermath of the incident confusing or counter-intuitive. All that matters, Chapman said, is if you find that non-consensual sex took place and Boskovic knew it wasn't consensual.

Drury spokesman Mike Brothers said the university conducted an internal investigation under Title IX, but he declined to comment on the investigation's outcome. Brothers said, though, that Boskovic is no longer employed at Drury or enrolled as a student.

Drury's tennis coach, Jarrod Smith, as well as two Missouri State University tennis players were at the hearing and sat next to Boskovic's mother.

Wampler sent out a news release in the days after charges were filed saying Boskovic and the victim had been dating for months before the alleged rape and she had "designed" the charges to "ruin his career."

After the jury trial Thursday, Wampler said Boskovic will have to register as sex offender and it's unclear whether he will be allowed to stay in the country.

Some information — such as names of victims, relationships with a defendant or locations of crimes — can be missing in News-Leader stories about sexual offenses and domestic abuse. That’s due in part to a state law that redacts the identities of victims, making some information unavailable to report. The News-Leader also tries to protect victim identities, unless victims want to speak out.