A preliminary hearing has been set for 9 a.m. Sept. 10 for an Arkansas City man charged with raping and battering two elderly women who live together in Ark City.
Bruce A. Hays, 41, a local mechanic, made his first appearance in Cowley County District Court in Ark City since arrested on six counts of rape July 29. He is being held in the Cowley County jail in lieu of $38,500 bond.
Hays lived with the victims for a time during 2007 and then moved down the street from the women. The offenses allegedly occurred between Sept. 1, 2007 and July 28, 2008. The women did not report the incidents until recently.
