Published: July 11, 2006 12:00 am            

Library employee charged with rape

Search warrant executed at library, computer taken into forensic evidence

By Tom Blakey

Transcript Staff Writer

Norman police executed a search warrant at the Norman Public Library Monday afternoon, in connection with Saturday's arrest of a man employed as a graphic artist at the library and subsequently charged in the alleged rape of a 13-year-old Norman girl.

Ganelon Grant Diers, 42, was charged Monday in Cleveland County District Court with first-degree rape - victim under age 14. Diers was released Monday afternoon from the Cleveland County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.

According to court documents, Norman police responded to a "disturbance" at the girl's home in the 2000 block of Briarcliff at 5:15 a.m. Saturday. The girl told police her parents were upset because she was "seeing a 42-year-old man," police said.

The girl told police she'd met Diers on the Internet, that they'd been involved in a dating relationship since March, and had been sexually involved on one occasion. The sex act reportedly took place July 4 at Diers' residence in the 600 block of Villa, police said.

Police said Diers admitted picking the girl up at 2:30 a.m. and taking her home at 5 a.m. He admitted to having a relationship with the girl, which included kissing and cuddling, and told detectives she was "a special girl," police said.

Norman Police Capt. Tom Easley said detectives executed a search warrant at the Norman Public Library, 225 N. Webster Ave., Monday afternoon, and took a computer into forensic evidence while seeking evidence of Diers' electronic communications with the girl.

"To accomplish that, we take the whole computer and make a duplicate of the hard drive. Then we can give back the computer and conduct an analysis of our copy," he said.

Dier has been employed at the library four years, according to city officials. His work did not bring him into frequent contact with the general public, officials said.

Detectives also executed a search warrant at Diers' home on Villa Drive, police said.

Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com

        

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