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State Police Arrest Lewis County Man for Rape and Resisting
Arrest
Published: May 26, 2026 at
12:30 p.m.
By: Press Release
from New York State Police
State Police arrest Lewis County man for rape and
resisting arrest
On May 23, 2026,
at approximately 10:58 p.m., State Police from SP Carthage and SP Lowville
responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Old State Road in the town
of Diana, Lewis County.
Upon arrival,
Troopers located an unoccupied vehicle stopped in the roadway. Moments
later, a female victim emerged from a nearby wooded area visibly injured,
covered in blood and dirt, and missing clothing. The victim was yelling for
Troopers to keep a male subject away from her as he pursued her from the
woods.
Troopers located
the suspect, identified as Zachary J. Strough, age 40, of
Natural Bridge, NY, who resisted Troopers while being arrested.
Investigators
determined the two had been involved in an argument. While traveling on Old
State Road, Strough allegedly struck the victim multiple
times while she was seated in the passenger seat. Strough then
stopped the vehicle, forcibly removed the victim from the car, dragged her
into a wooded area, physically assaulted her, and forcibly subjected her to
sexual acts.
Strough was
arrested and charged with:
- Rape in the First Degree (Class B Felony)
- Resisting Arrest (Class A Misdemeanor)
Strough was
processed at SP Carthage and arraigned in the Town of West Turin Court,
where he was remanded to the Lewis County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash,
$10,000 bond, or $40,000 partially secured bond.
He is scheduled
to reappear in Lewis County Court on May 26, 2026.
The victim was
treated at Carthage Area Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries before
being transferred to Upstate University Hospital.
The investigation
remains ongoing.
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