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The Concord police are looking for three men accused of raping a 19-year-old Concord woman in her apartment while selling magazines door to door Monday. The men were working for a Florida company that has had at least two other employees face charges for criminal behavior.
The police, who released details of the alleged rape for the first time yesterday, are warning residents not to open their doors to strangers. They pointed to a Web site that tracks cases across the country of traveling salesmen killing, raping and stealing from people while going door to door selling magazines and other products.
"These (traveling salesmen), their whole goal is to get into your house," said Lt. Walter Carroll. "People should have their doors locked. They should even lock their screen doors."
The police were still investigating yesterday and released little information about the assault, which occurred Monday evening between 5 and 7 p.m. They declined to say where the assault happened to avoid identifying the victim.
The police have issued arrest warrants for Christopher (Tobias) B. Armstrong, 23, of Jonesboro, Ark., Joseph Haniffy, 24, of Chicopee, Mass., and Cassidy Coburn, 19, of Monroe, Utah. Armstrong and Coburn are wanted on one count of rape each. Haniffy is charged with two counts of rape. Last night, the police were looking for the vehicles, a white Chevrolet station wagon and a white GMC truck. Both have Arkansas plates.
The men are also wanted by the Saugus, Mass., police for recent misdemeanor crimes, including receiving stolen property. The men were arrested and photographed there but fled before they could be arraigned. Those Massachusetts mug shots accompanied the Concord police's press release yesterday.
Carroll declined to say how the local police connected the men to the assault. The Saugus police did not return phone calls yesterday.
It was unclear yesterday how long the men had been knocking on doors in Concord, selling magazines. The police said yesterday they worked for Fidelity Reader Service of Naples, Fla., a company that negotiates reduced rates for magazine subscriptions and hires people to sell the titles around the country.
However, the owner of the company, Belo Kellam, said last night that the men were not his employees and instead worked for a middleman who contracted with Fidelity. According to Kellam, Fidelity hires distributors to manage crews of door-to-door salesmen. The distributor is responsible for hiring the salesmen and is encouraged but not required by Fidelity to do a background check, Kellam said. Kellam rewards the most productive salesmen with trips and cash prizes, but said he does not consider them his employees.
"They don't work for me, they work for Aaron Harvey (the distributor)," Kellam said. "And he's like me. If they did something bad, they should get what they deserve. If they didn't, then the person who accused them should get what she deserves."
Kellam learned of the charges yesterday afternoon, he said, and spoke with Harvey. He said he was withholding judgment until a trial proves the men guilty or innocent. He said another employee of his was accused of rape, only to have the woman recant later.
Other Fidelity salesmen, however, were charged and convicted. According to the Naples (Fla.)Daily News, one salesman is serving six years in prison for exposing himself to a 6-year-old girl in Arkansas. Another salesman was charged in Washington with criminal trespassing and burglary. Several others have been arrested for not having the proper sales permit in communities that require one, according to the Naples Daily News.
Other magazine sales companies have had similar problems with employees. A Web site dedicated to tracking the problems of traveling sales crews (http://www.travelingsalescrews.info) keeps a list of dozens of crimes committed by salesmen from a variety of companies. An 18-year-old salesman was charged last year with killing a 77-year-old woman in New Jersey. A California man admitted to molesting a 9-year-old girl while selling magazines door-to-door.
Three years ago, the family of woman murdered by a traveling salesman settled a case against his employer for $1 million. Another man was charged with raping a 14-year-old girl. She let him in because he asked for a glass of water.
(Anyone with information is asked to call the Concord police at 603-225-8600 or the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100. Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 603-224-5301, ext. 323, or by e-mail at user atimmins at domain cmonitor.com.)
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