Shipshewana man accused of raping tenant

May 21—LIGONIER — A landlord in Ligonier was arrested Friday for allegedly raping his tenant.

Glen R. Miller, 63, of Shipshewana, had an initial hearing in Noble Circuit Court on Monday on a charge of rape, a Level 3 felony. Miller told Noble Circuit Court Chief Judge George Brown that he intends to hire his own attorney. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 29. Court records show Miller posted a $50,000 surety bond on Monday.

According to an affidavit, Miller had been renting an apartment to the woman for about two years, but in the last year and a half, when she didn’t have enough money to pay the rent, the landlord explicitly touched her, which resulted in sex. The tenant said Miller told her it was OK if she was short on cash and that they would take care of it, the affidavit states.

The victim claimed in the affidavit that they had sex about 15 times and that she was afraid to tell Miller no because she feared she would be kicked out.

However, the rape occurred Friday morning when Miller entered her apartment unannounced after she had just gotten out of the shower, according to the victim’s statement in the probable cause affidavit. She reportedly told Miller that she no longer wanted to have sex with him.

According to the affidavit, the victim told police that Miller walked up to her, took off his clothes and grabbed her while she continued to say “no.” He then allegedly forced himself on her and left after he was finished, court records say.

Miller reportedly told police he knocked on the victim’s door to talk to her about rent payments, she let him in, took off his clothes and started teasing him, the affidavit states. In the affidavit, he claimed the sex was consensual. He reportedly told police it happened about six times.