A jury in Island County Superior Court last week found an Oak Harbor man guilty of raping a woman in her apartment in 2020.

On March 31, the jury in Island County Superior Court found 28-year-old Aston Samms guilty of rape in the third degree. In addition, the jury declined to find Samms guilty of the more serious charge of rape in the second degree, but instead returned a verdict of attempted rape in the second degree.

A sentencing trial hearing will be scheduled after the state Department of Corrections completes a presentence investigation. Court documents state that Samms lives in barracks at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

The prosecutor’s trial brief explains that Samms went to the apartment with the victim’s roommate, but then started texting the victim early in the morning on her roommate’s phone. He also knocked on her bedroom door.

The victim eventually relented and agreed to allow Samms to perform a sex act, but did not consent to sexual intercourse.

While in bed with the victim, Samms raped her as she repeatedly told him that she did not want to have sex. Later, he again tried to rape her, but she told him to stop and tried to push him off of her, the brief states.

The woman pushed, scratched, kicked and punched Samms to keep him away and yelled for him to stop, but he held her down, the brief states. She started screaming loudly for her roommate and Samms left.

The victim called police and went to a hospital for a rape kit exam.

In emails to the News-Times, Samms’ family member claims he is innocent and that the lack of diversity on the jury led to a biased verdict.