Noah Apgar is heading to trial in Monroe County on a remaining Level 3 felony rape charge, after most of the original counts were dismissed in October 2024. The case now turns on whether prosecutors can persuade a jury with evidence tied to both women and the conduct they say was similar. A mistrial is not the ruling described here; the trial on the surviving count is the next step.
Noah Apgar in Monroe County
Apgar, a former Indiana University student, now faces a trial that narrowed from a broader set of accusations. Prosecutors initially filed five counts of rape, one count of strangulation and one count of confinement, based on allegations that he raped two women in one week.
That earlier filing matters because the remaining case is not the full set of charges. Only one rape count remains, and prosecutors will have to prove that count on its own, even though the original case was built around multiple allegations.
October 2024 dismissals
A Monroe County judge dismissed most of the counts in October 2024. Mario Massillamany said prosecutors acknowledged that “Proseuctors acknowledged that there were evidentiary problems and said that they could not meet their burden at this time on those counts” on the dismissed charges.
The dismissal left one rape count in place, and that count stems from an incident inside an IU fraternity house. For the defense, the narrowed filing means the state is proceeding without the bulk of the original charges that were removed last fall.
Mario Massillamany on trial evidence
Massillamany said prosecutors plan to use both women’s accounts during trial to show a pattern in Apgar’s conduct. “They’re going to try and show the similarities of how this defendant acted to show that they don’t just have one witness alleging this, but two,” he said.
He also said, “The way that he did it is so similar that it corroborates their testimony.” That approach suggests the state will try to connect the surviving count to the broader allegations through the similarities it says the two accounts share, even though the judge removed most of the original case.
If Apgar is convicted, he could face between three to 16 years in the Indiana Department of Correction. What prosecutors present to prove the remaining rape charge will decide whether the case ends with that single count or moves in another direction.
