Parties at Bois D’Arc mansion are focus of rape investigation

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office searched a 20,000-square-foot mansion in Bois D’Arc last week after three women raised allegations that they had been raped and possibly drugged.

According to court documents, two of the women reported waking up at the mansion after a party and not remembering what happened the night before — only that they may have been sexually assaulted.

Documents say the property at 1780 Circle U Lane includes a guest home, a 12-car garage, a protected courtyard, an elevator, a pool, a fountain and 13 acres of land.

The lavish home was allegedly the site of house parties that included hot tubs, “Happy Drinks” and a stripper pole.

Authorities searched the property on July 17, and documents say they collected pills, white powder, bedding, condoms and other items.

Documents say the address is owned by James Bonis. No one has been charged in connection with the search.

Search warrant documents say investigators were looking for evidence of non-consensual sexual encounters with two women who contacted deputies and “other potential unidentified victims who attended parties at the location.”

March 23

According to the search warrant, the first incident occurred March 23. A woman called her friend distressed at about 8:30 p.m. saying she didn’t know where she was but she had been drugged and raped.

The friend used the Find My iPhone application to track the woman to the mansion in Bois D’Arc.

When the friend arrived to pick up the woman, the woman was sitting in a car talking with a man who is described as being tall, slender and in his 50s with gray hair, the warrant says.

The woman allegedly told her friend that the man had raped her four times and given her a “Plan B” pill, the warrant says.

The friend took the woman to the hospital where she was contacted by authorities.

The woman declined to pursue the matter any further “in fear of retaliation from the male,” according to the warrant.

July 16

The warrant says deputies were called out to the mansion in Bois D’Arc on July 16 to check the well-being of three females, one of whom was 16 years old.

When deputies arrived, a man named Jeremy Wilson answered the door, the documents say. The warrant describes him as “uncooperative,” saying he refused to let authorities come inside.

Wilson eventually ushered the three females to the door so they could speak with the deputies, the warrant says.

The three females all agreed they were at the residence willingly and they did not appear to be impaired, so the deputies left the scene, according to the warrant.

At about 4 a.m., a man called 911 and told the dispatcher he believed his 18-year-old daughter was at the mansion in Bois D’Arc and that she was drinking, the warrant says. The man was given information about the earlier call to the house.

At about 5:15 a.m., there was a 911 call made from the mansion with a female caller telling the dispatcher she had locked herself inside a closet at the residence because there were 40-year-old men at the residence trying to touch her inappropriately, according to the warrant.

The girl, who is 16 years old, said she was wearing only a bra and panties and she had been given alcohol to drink at the party, the warrant says.

The girl managed to leave the home and make contact with deputies, the warrant says.

The girl said she swam in the pool and hung out with some people when an unidentified man started acting “creepy” and she wanted to leave, the warrant says.

Later that day, two other females were contacted by deputies at Cox South Hospital. They had been at the party and believed they may have been sexually assaulted, according to the warrant.

The females told deputies that the night before at the mansion a man named “King James” was serving up “Happy Drinks” which were described as vodka, UV Blue and cranberry juice, according to the warrant.

One of the females told deputies she was introduced to a woman described as “James’s stripper girlfriend” who took her to a downstairs room at the home with a stripper pole, a small platform, red lights and white couches, the warrant says.

The female told deputies she had a “consensual sexual encounter” with another woman, but when she woke up in the morning she was naked in a different bed and she did not remember anything after that encounter, the warrant says.

The female believed she was given something other than alcohol, the warrant says.

The other female told deputies she went swimming at the party and the next thing she remembers is waking up naked in the bed, the warrant says.

The women said at the party the guests were told that they could not use their cell phones or take pictures, according to the warrant.

Who is James Bonis?

Last week’s seizure is not the first time Bonis’ mansion in Bois D’Arc has been searched by authorities.

He was at the center of an investigation in March 2014 for allegedly importing rifle scopes from China, changing the engravings and selling them with labels that claimed they were made in the United States.

Bonis pleaded guilty in April to federal charges of mail fraud and money laundering related to that scam.

The News-Leader tried to reach Bonis using several phone numbers associated with him but the newspaper was unable to reach him by press time Thursday.