Ernie Carletti is a former heavy metal guitarist from Elkton, Maryland, who was convicted in 2007 of kidnapping and raping a University of Delaware student and sentenced to 33 years in prison. He had briefly joined the band Iced Earth in the months before his arrest and previously fronted a local group called Naughty Naughty.
The 2003 Kidnapping and Rape
On the evening of May 21, 2003, Carletti abducted a University of Delaware student at gunpoint from a parking area on South Chapel Street in Newark, Delaware.1vLex. Carletti v. State He bound her with duct tape, handcuffed and shackled her, and drove her to his home in Elkton, where he sexually assaulted her twice.2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011 The victim was blindfolded and held in the basement before Carletti released her on West Main Street in Newark in the early morning hours of May 22, 2003.3WDEL. Man Convicted in Rape of UD Student She ran to her dormitory and called police.
How He Was Caught
The case moved slowly. Investigators photographed marks on the victim’s wrists and ankles the morning after the attack and recovered pieces of the duct tape used to restrain her from the area where she had been released.2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011 A composite sketch of the suspect did not appear until roughly a year later.
The break came in May 2006, when a fingerprint lifted from the duct tape was matched to Carletti. He initially denied abducting or restraining anyone. Confronted with the fingerprint, he shifted his account and called the encounter “consensual bondage.”4Metal Underground. Iced Earth Guitarist Convicted of Kidnapping and Rape He was arrested on September 18, 2006, more than three years after the crime.
Conviction and 33-Year Sentence
Carletti’s jury trial began in November 2007 in Delaware Superior Court. The victim, identified in court records by her initials, testified about the abduction, the restraints, and the two assaults. Prosecutors backed her account with the fingerprint match, photographs of her injuries, a walkthrough of Carletti’s home that corroborated details she had described, and records confirming he had owned a black sedan at the time.2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011
Carletti testified in his own defense. He admitted abducting the victim but denied a crime had occurred, telling the jury that “things went a little too far.”2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011 On November 19, 2007, the jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree kidnapping and acquitted him of a weapons charge.1vLex. Carletti v. State
On January 18, 2008, Superior Court Judge Jan R. Jurden imposed a 50-year prison sentence, suspended after 33 years, followed by probation.2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011 Prosecutor Donald R. Roberts had asked for life. Given the chance to speak, Carletti told the court, “I feel, your honor, that anything I say is not going to be able to contribute.” He was 32 at the time. Roberts said Carletti would be at least 64 before he could be released.5Metal Underground. Former Iced Earth Guitarist Sentenced to 33 Years
A separate sexual assault case, based on an incident said to have occurred when Carletti was in high school, was filed after his conviction but was not prosecuted.5Metal Underground. Former Iced Earth Guitarist Sentenced to 33 Years
Failed Appeals
Carletti appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court, arguing that the two rape counts violated double jeopardy and that the trial court had wrongly denied a continuance. On December 3, 2008, the court affirmed the convictions.1vLex. Carletti v. State The United States Supreme Court denied review in 2009.2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011
He then filed for postconviction relief in Superior Court, arguing ineffective assistance of counsel. He claimed his trial attorney had misread the prosecution’s theory, prejudicing his decision to testify. A Superior Court Commissioner recommended denying the motion, and the Superior Court agreed. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed on August 30, 2011, finding no deficient performance or prejudice under Strickland v. Washington.2Delaware Courts. Carletti v. State, No. 232, 2011
The Iced Earth Connection
Before his arrest, Carletti was the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of Naughty Naughty, a heavy metal band based in Elkton that had formed in 1995.6Encyclopaedia Metallum. Naughty Naughty He was also associated with a project called Slik Helvetika.
In June 2006, Carletti joined Iced Earth as a guitarist. His tenure was extremely short. He never appeared on any recordings and never performed live with the group before his September 2006 arrest ended his involvement.4Metal Underground. Iced Earth Guitarist Convicted of Kidnapping and Rape That brief association with a prominent band is what carried news of his conviction beyond Delaware and into metal press coverage.