City man, 61, faces new sex assault charges against wife
City man, 61, faces new sex assault charges against wife
By Jim Osborn/josborn@columbustelegram.com
COLUMBUS - A 61-year-old Columbus man awaiting trial next month for attempted sexual assault of his estranged wife in early May is now accused of sexually assaulting the woman after threatening her with a handgun.
The man, who is not being identified to protect the identity of the victim, has been charged with first-degree sexual assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and making terroristic threats in connection with the Sept. 7 incident.
The city man was already awaiting an Oct. 22 district court trial on a charge of attempted first-degree sexual assault stemming from a May 6 incident. The suspect was released on bond and awaiting trial in the May case when he was arrested in the new case.
The man's bond in the new case was set at 10 percent of $1.5 million last week in Platte County Court.
Both cases involved the estranged wife's concerns about her immigration status and concerns about being deported. Both cases also involved paperwork disputes regarding documents from federal immigration officials.
The victim was listed as a temporary resident alien with immigration authorities earlier this summer.
About 10:30 a.m. Sept. 7, the victim went to her estranged husband's home to retrieve an immigration form when her husband said he planned to be in Omaha, according to an arrest affidavit filed in the case by Columbus Investigator Gregory Sealock.
Sealock said the victim reported the home's door was supposed to be unlocked with the immigration document waiting on a desk in the living room. After the woman had gotten the document, she was confronted by her husband, he said.
After refusing her husband's sexual advances, the victim said her husband then “opened a cabinet door on the desk in the living room and pulled out a silver handgun and began raising it with his hand, while holding her with his other hand.''
The victim said she had sex with her husband because of fear that he was going to kill her, kill himself or kill both of them. “I was thinking maybe if I have sex with him at least I'll be alive. If I am able to leave this home I will be lucky.â€
