Cockeysville Man Pleads Guilty to Raping Unconscious Woman Outside Towson Bar

TOWSON — A man seen on surveillance video having sex with an unconscious woman in a parking lot outside a Towson bar last year pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree rape.

Mark Hammon, 53, of Cockeysville, faces up to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman in a parking lot near a bar on West Pennsylvania Avenue around 1 a.m. on April 25, 2025.

The woman told police she drank four or five shots of alcohol before going to the bar that night. The last thing she remembers, she said, was talking with an older man inside the bar.

Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Robert Cahill viewed surveillance footage from a nearby bank that prosecutors said captured much of the encounter.

According to prosecutors, after the pair kissed, hugged and had sex in the front seat of Hammon's truck. The woman then fell to the pavement, struck her head and became motionless, appearing to be "concussed or unconscious," Assistant State's Attorney Kayla York told the court.

Police said the video shows Hammon continuing sexual activity after the woman lost consciousness. Afterward, he repeatedly tried to pull her to her feet and re-dress her.

"The defendant then leaves the victim motionless to go to the corner of the parking lot and urinate on a wall. The defendant then goes back to the victim and tries to pull her up several more times," York said, reading a statement of facts in court.

Bystanders who became concerned about the woman's condition gathered around her and prevented Hammon from having further contact with her. Hammon walked away, but when he returned, a fight broke out and at least two people punched him in the head, according to charging documents.

The bystanders flagged down Baltimore County police, and medics were called. EMTs reported that the woman "presented with decreased levels of consciousness and signs of alcohol or substance exposure."

Officers also noticed that her underwear had been pulled down around one leg and was visible through a hole in her jeans.

York said a sexual assault examination at a local hospital found DNA matching Hammon in the woman's vagina.

Defense attorney Bradley Shepherd said Hammon had been drinking heavily that night. Hammon told police he did not recall much of the night.

Shepherd said that at least part of the encounter was consensual. Had the case gone to trial, he said, defense witnesses would have testified that the woman approached Hammon at the bar, flirted with him and voluntarily left with him.

"The argument gets very unclear once the alleged victim goes down to the ground," Shepherd said.

Hammon was arrested June 4, 2025, following a month-long investigation and has been held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Under the plea agreement, Hammon will receive a 20-year sentence, with all but no more than 10 years suspended. Judge Cahill agreed to a binding cap of 10 years of active incarceration, meaning he will not sentence Hammon to serve more than 10 years in prison. Prosecutors will recommend five years of supervised probation. Maryland law requires lifetime sex offender registration for anyone convicted of second-degree rape.

Cahill ordered a psychosexual evaluation before sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 20.