DATE RAPE Accusations Heat Up

Monday, July 30th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A 47-year-old woman wants Jeff Minnick to stand trial for rape. The woman says she and Minnick met over the internet and corresponded a couple of months before meeting in Tulsa in 1999.

She claims he offered her a powdery substance, and put it in her drink of Gatorade. She testified she got dizzy, passed out and woke up four hours later, on her bed, naked, alone and feeling like she'd had intercourse.

Minnick's attorney says it didn't happen that way at all.

Wayne Copeland, Defense attorney: "At trial, we'll show any relations were consensual and there's no drugging. The packet of material he gave her that she readily accepted is in any health food store, it's called "Invigorate" and it's a vitamin."

Prosecutors say GHB was once legal to buy over the counter. It was primary used to promote relaxation.

GHB was originally developed as an anaesthetic. Many doctors stopped administering it because the side effects were too unpredictable. The FDA outlawed GHB in 1998.

Doug Drummond, Asst DA: "It can be extremely lethal depending on the dose and a person's sensitvity. But, our point is, we don't want people giving it people in any level. You can see what can happen."

Drummond says GHB is a date rape drug much like Rohypnol, and this case should serve as a warning to all women and men to be careful what they drink and never accept anything in a drink from a stranger.