Doctor accused of rape found guilty in separate case
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia doctor who is charged with rape has been found guilty of a pair of misdemeanors in a separate case.
A jury found Travis Birkhead guilty on Wednesday of two counts of violating a restraining order. He was found not guilty of first-degree harassment. He will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17. Birkhead is still charged in another case with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault.
Court documents say Birkhead violated the order of protection by driving by the victim’s residence on Sept. 9 and 15, 2022. He was not allowed to be within 500 feet of the home, the probable cause statement says of the order for protection. Birkhead allegedly denied being within 500 feet of the victim, but allegedly told officers he drove by the home to drop off someone, the statement says.
In his rape case, court documents in previous reporting claim Birkhead took a woman behind a bar on East Business Loop 70 on Oct. 22, 2022, and sexually assaulted her in the woods behind the bar.
Columbia police said surveillance video showed the woman having difficulty standing up while the two went out of view. Columbia police claim Birkhead texted another person that he had sex with the alleged victim behind the bar.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25, and a jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9.