Man arrested after filming rape of woman, 12-year-old

INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — A man has been arrested after he reportedly broke into a home on the west side of Indianapolis and raped a mother and her daughter while recording it on his phone.

According to court documents, filed on Sunday in Marion County, 21-year-old Teshon Gardner has been preliminarily charged with two counts of rape, each a Level 1 felony, in relation to an incident at a home on S. Worth Avenue on Saturday.

At around 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to a call regarding a rape that had just occurred. When officers arrived, a woman at the scene told them that she and her 12-year-old daughter had been raped at gunpoint inside the home.

The woman told police she had recently gotten home from a tire shop when she heard a knock on the front door. When she opened the door, the documents said that a man wearing an American Flag mask was pointing a handgun at her and told her to let him inside.

When the man entered the home, the man reportedly raped the woman on the couch and floor. As the man looked at family pictures on the wall, the documents said he asked the woman if there was anyone else in the house. The woman told the man no one else was inside.

The man then stopped raping her and walked down the hallway where the woman’s children were sleeping. The documents said that the man told the woman to get one of her children and go back into the living room.

After this occurred, the man reportedly raped the woman, as well as a 12-year-old child, multiple times. The woman told police that the man, later identified by police as Gardner, arrived at her house around 11:30 a.m. and left around 12:30 p.m. The woman then gave a description of the man to police, including an indecipherable tattoo that began with the letter ‘M,’ and said that Gardner reportedly recorded himself raping them with his cell phone.

Using the description, as well as nearby cameras, police tracked down a blue Ford F-150 linked to Gardner to a home on W. 28th Street. Police later arrested Gardner during a traffic stop on W. 30th Street and Annette Street.

During an interview with police, Gardner told police that he was the only one driving the truck that day and said he spent most of the day “just driving around.” The documents said he denied having sexual contact with anyone that day or sexually assaulting anyone.

When asked about his tattoo, Gardner reportedly showed police the tattoo on the left side of his torso, where the word “Motown” was written. The documents said Gardner could not explain how the victims in the case would have known about the tattoo.

IMPD Lt. Shane Foley commends the two survivors on their bravery to come forward following such horrific acts.

“We’re thankful that they were able to and willing and had the courage to come forward and cooperate with detectives,” said Foley. “It’s my understanding that they acted phenomenally being able to provide information that was critical to being able to identify the person we believe responsible for this for this act.”

The Indiana Coalition To End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking has numerous resources including people who can help walk survivors through the legal process if they choose to go that route.

You can find a list of those resources here. You can also contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

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