Asheville police charge man in rape case using video, plate readers

Asheville police say detectives used surveillance video and automatic license-plate-reader data to identify a 62-year-old man now charged in a rape case that began with a sexual assault report in early April.

Louie Willard Perry Jr. was charged with second-degree forcible rape after the investigation, which started when a victim reported the assault on April 11. Officers responded to Bartlett Street the next day to investigate, and police later identified Perry as the suspect using a combination of video evidence and plate-reader data, authorities said.

Perry was arrested on April 17 by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and later booked into the Buncombe County Detention Facility without bond. The cross-county arrest highlighted how cases that begin in Asheville can move through multiple law-enforcement agencies before an arrest is made in another county.

Under North Carolina General Statute 14-27.22, second-degree forcible rape is defined as vaginal intercourse by force and against the will of the other person, or intercourse with a person who is mentally incapacitated or physically helpless when the offender knows or should reasonably know of that condition. The charge carries serious criminal consequences and reflects the legal standard investigators must meet as a case moves toward court.

The Asheville Police Department has said it uses automatic license-plate-reader technology to help solve crimes and locate at-risk individuals, and it now posts public-facing ALPR dashboards and policy information as part of its transparency efforts. In this case, the technology was one of the tools detectives used alongside surveillance footage to narrow down a suspect.

The case also points to the support system available for survivors in Buncombe County. The Buncombe County Family Justice Center is at 35 Woodfin Street in Asheville and provides integrated services in one location for survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder abuse and child abuse. The center works with Asheville police and is intended to connect victims with advocacy, medical care, safety planning and trauma support.

Anyone with information about the case or anyone affected by a similar incident can contact the Asheville Police Department’s non-emergency line at 828-252-1110. The Buncombe County Family Justice Center can be reached at 828-250-6900.