Former downtown Athens bar owner acquitted of rape charge in jury trial

The former owner of two popular bars in downtown Athens was acquitted in a jury trial Tuesday of raping a young woman more than four year ago inside one of the bars.

The jury of seven men and five women returned their verdict in about an hour during a Clarke County Superior Court trial presided over by Judge Eric Norris.

David Ippisch, the former owner of Hedges on Broad, where the assault was alleged, and 100 Proof, was tried for the offenses of rape and kidnapping, which was reported on Nov. 24, 2019, by a 21-year-old woman.

“We kind of expected it,” said defense lawyer Bernard Brody, a sex crimes expertise attorney from Atlanta. “I thought the case was convincing for us and pretty obvious this was a false allegation from the beginning.”

Ippisch, who was originally from Fannin County, did not testify in the trial, but quietly observed proceedings as he sat beside his attorneys, Brody, Ed Tolley and Spencer Tolley of Athens. The trial began with jury selection on Feb. 12 with testimony occurring over six days.

The rape was alleged to have occurred on the concert stage at Hedges while a DJ played music and hundreds of people gathered below for dancing and drinking. The assault, according to the woman, occurred behind a curtain on stage where she alleged Ippisch plied her with "shots" of alcohol.

More: Athens bar owner pleads not guilty to rape charge

Ippisch never denied they had sex, but he told Athens-Clarke police officers that it was consensual.

Brody said Ippisch had to close both bars after his arrest.

“His businesses went under soon after the allegations were made. He sat in jail for six months and now it’s been four plus years waiting for this day,” he said. “With all the attention it got, there was no way for Hedges to come back.”

The woman has also retained lawyers who sent various parties notifications of an intent to sue the bar owner and owners of the buildings. Brody said that kind of lawsuit is not normally filed until after the criminal case is resolved.

Jim Power, a former prosecutor for the Western Circuit District Attorney, was retained to prosecute the charges due to his familiarity with the case.

During his final argument, Power characterized the crime as a 38-year-old businessman taking advantage of an intoxicated 21-year-old woman. The evidence, he said, shows the defendant giving the woman shots of alcohol to the point she could not consent to sex.

Power told the jury that if they believe she did not consent to the sex then they could find Ippisch guilty.

Numerous times during his closing, Power expounded on “eight drinks in 45 minutes.”

The trial was an example of how social media postings are frequently used today as evidence as it documents not only what is said, but when it is said.

During the evening of the alleged assault, police were able to download such information showing how the victim and her friend had planned to contact Ippisch and use him to get on stage where they could “stunt” a photo, meaning they could share a photo showing them having fun on stage near the DJ.

Brody was able to show the jury that the woman’s friend, who admitted she was intoxicated that evening, had actually deleted 16 of her texts regarding this plot after learning that police were going to examine her phone.

Police were also able to determine that the woman making the complaint was also untruthful in terms of how many drinks she had that evening.

The defense also introduced a witness, who testified he once had a relationship with the woman that included sex when they were teenagers. The woman later alleged the former boyfriend had raped her, but the man told the court, “That’s false.”

The prosecution also presented the testimony of a former girlfriend of Ippisch, who testified she also had nonconsensual sex with him, but that later they engaged in consensual sex. During pre-trial hearings, the testimony of two other women who would allege the same behavior was not allowed by the judge.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Downtown Athens bar owner acquitted of rape charge in jury trial