Americans for Prosperity staffer named Koch is charged with rape at Montana fraternity

A staffer for the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity has been charged with raping a woman last year at a Montana State University fraternity.

Evan Koch is accused of raping a woman in November at the Alpha Gamma Rho house after serving her a strong alcoholic drink that she said caused her to lose consciousness, reported the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

It's not clear whether Koch, a part-time staffer for AFP in Bozeman, is related to the billionaire philanthropists who fund the conservative activist group.

“This morning AFP learned about a news story reporting that a part-time employee in our Montana chapter has been charged by local authorities with alleged serious criminal action unrelated to his role at AFP," said Levi Russell, director of public affairs. "AFP had no prior knowledge of this allegation. The individual has been placed on an immediate leave of absence pending resolution of the legal issues.”

The woman told police that she didn't believe she had been drugged, but she felt "hazy" and felt too tired to stop Koch from putting his hands under her clothes, according to court documents.

She called campus police Nov. 14, five days after the alleged assault, and told a detective that she met Koch, who was serving in the National Guard, at the campus library to discuss her own interest in joining the armed service.

The two studied for an aptitude test for the armed service for about 90 minutes before Koch invited her to his fraternity house to try a new drink he had invented, documents show.

The woman, who was not a student, said the 16-ounce drink was too strong, so she drank it quickly so she could go home.

By the time she was finished, however, she said they were both too intoxicated to drive.

Koch invited her to spend the night, and the woman agreed -- but she told police that she informed Koch she did not want to have sex with him.

She said they did kiss before she fell asleep as Koch penetrated her with his fingers, investigators said.

Koch took her home in the morning, and she texted him later to say she had a bad feeling about what had happened the night before.

She complained that he had gotten her “completely f*cking hammered and did stuff I would absolutely never do with you sober.”

“I just went to a really dark place last night,” Koch replied in a text. “I know there isn’t anything I can do to fix this, but whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

Koch said he wouldn't blame her if she reported him, according to investigators.

“I can’t describe how bad I feel," she said. "I thought you were my friend."

The detective asked the woman later to send Koch a text message asking if she had been unclear about wanting to engage in any sexual activity with him.

“You were clear,” Koch texted. “I was just in a bad mix between the alcohol and how unhappy I was.”

He admitted that he had abused her trust and personal space.

Campus police interviewed Koch on Nov. 25, and he told a detective that he had gone to sleep after the woman told him she didn't want sex.

He claimed he awoke sometime later to find himself penetrating the woman and continued because the woman seemed to be fine, and police said Koch told them he regretted it.

Koch agreed his story seemed far-fetched, but he insisted that's what happened.

He was charged this week with felony sexual intercourse without consent.