Tahlequah Landlord Accused Of First-Degree Rape

 The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Tahlequah landlord on a complaint of raping one of his tenants.

The victim told police she was afraid Ronald Pillay would kick her and her mother out of their home if she did not get in his truck and have sex with him. According to the victim, Pillay called her several times late at night and told her he was coming over to have sex with her. She said she did not think that was a good idea but Pillay showed up anyway and told her to get inside his truck.

The victim’s mother said that she could hear her daughter yell “Stop” three times before she got out of the truck.

The victim also told police that after he raped her, he told her not to tell anyone because he would get in trouble and that he has been in this business for 22 years.

“With rape in the first degree, one of the elements is force or fear. And it doesn’t have to be fear for your life or something of that nature. In this case, it was fear of being evicted, put out on the street.” Said District Attorney Jack Thorp.

Thorp says some victims of sexual crimes never come forward - and in this case, he applauds the woman for speaking up right away, by telling the sheriff’s office the very next day.

“When the victim comes forward as soon as possible after a crime, then there’s biologic evidence, there’s forensic evidence. There’s things that we can acquire that will help corroborate the case. Rape is such a personal, horrible crime. We want people to get with law enforcement. Don’t worry about anything like embarrassment. Come forward and let us do our job so that we can punish the wrongdoer.”

Pillay has bonded out of jail. On the phone, Pillay denied the accusations. He said, “Not guilty. Everything is false.”