Jury finds former Marine Noel Bertrand guilty in Denver airport rape case

DENVER - Denver jurors found a former Marine accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Denver International Airport guilty Monday morning.

Jurors started deliberating on Thursday. Noel Bertrand, 27, is scheduled to be sentenced November 30.

Bertrand was accused of raping a woman at the airport just after midnight on April 12.

Bertrand's defense attorney argued that this was a case of "rough foreplay" and that the woman willingly engaged in it until the couple were caught having sex in a public place.

During the trial, the prosecution showed photos of the woman's black eye.

"Does that look like it was fun?" Deputy District Attorney Isabell Pallares asked.

"This was not some sort of kinky sex act. This was a brutal aggressive attack," Pallares said.

Pallares pointed out the woman refused a kiss from Bertrand. An airport cleaning woman also testified that she saw the man attempt to kiss the woman, who did not reciprocate.

The prosecutor emphasized that the woman testified that she couldn't cry out because the attack triggered an asthma attack and that she could barely breath.

Pallares talked about the two airlines mechanics who pulled Bertrand off the woman.

"They weren't going to let him go anywhere," Pallares said. "And that's one thing that he (Bertrand) wasn't counting on."

Defense attorney Wadi Muhaisen, however, said Bertrand's accuser only claimed she was raped after the two were caught making love by the two mechanics.