Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

crime & courts

Agreement for paid sex results in reported robbery

An agreement between a 44-year-old man and a woman to engage in sexual intercourse in exchange for $40 resulted in an alleged robbery and two arrests late Monday night.

Laura Ruble, 23, was arrested and preliminarily charged with prostitution and possession of marijuana.

Her boyfriend, Brandon Grant, 29, was also arrested and preliminarily charged with robbery for the alleged theft of the 44-year-old man’s money after he found out the encounter between Ruble and the man occurred.

Both are currently booked at the Monroe County Jail. No bond is available for Ruble, who was on probation previous to the incident. Grant’s bond is set at $10,000 surety and $500 cash.

Bloomington police responded at about 11:15 p.m. to an initial report of a theft at University Inn, 2601 N. Walnut St. Upon arrival, officers met with the complainant, the 44-year-old man, who told police he had earlier made an agreement via telephone to pay Ruble $40 in exchange for sex, Sgt. Joseph Crider said.

The man left his room at Motel 6 to meet Ruble in room No. 117 of the University Inn, he told police. He and Ruble then engaged in foreplay until Ruble became upset, and
the encounter stopped.

Ruble told police at that point she became uninterested in having sex with the man and attempted to separate herself from him. She sent a text message to Grant, who later entered the room to find Ruble partially undressed with the man. Grant, who identified himself to police as Ruble’s boyfriend, told officers he had been previously unaware of what was happening and became angry when he saw the man with his girlfriend.

After Grant entered the room, the victim told police, Grant searched the man’s clothing for his wallet. The victim told Grant to stop, but he told police money was taken without his consent.

The victim told police the manner in which Grant acted while taking his money made him feel threatened and intimidated, Crider said, which is why officers felt the alleged theft could warrant a preliminary charge of robbery for Grant.

Initially, Grant denied participation in the theft but later admitted to taking $40 from the man, Crider said. Grant later recanted the statement and told police the man gave him $26.

The victim told police the amount taken was between $60 and $70.

While inside room No. 117, officers noticed a large sum of cash — about $370 — sitting on a table. Ruble told police she believed only $26 of it belonged to the man and said she could provide pay stubs for the remaining amount to prove she lawfully earned the money from her place of employment. Because Ruble was preliminarily charged with prostitution, officers seized the entire sum as evidence.

Police also detected the smell of marijuana while in the room, Crider said, and when they asked about it, Ruble told them she had hidden marijuana inside a mattress. She then voluntarily removed it and gave it to the officers, who arrested her for possession of marijuana.

Crider said a probable cause affidavit was also called in for the 44-year-old man, although it was not available as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Indiana Code 35-45-4-3 classifies knowingly or intentionally paying another person to engage in sexual intercourse as a Class A misdemeanor, but because officers did not witness the act, they could not arrest the man at the scene, Crider said.

Kirsten Clark

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe