Man Charged After Allegedly Beating and Sexually Assaulting a Woman Sunday Morning

(KNSI) — A Watkins man was arrested after he allegedly beat and raped a woman Sunday morning.

Police say they responded to a domestic and sexual assault at about 3:45 a.m. Sunday at a home in Watkins. Investigators say a woman, who was visibly injured, with bruising and swelling around her eyes, a gouge out of her right eyebrow, a swollen upper lip, bruising on her breasts, arms, and back, was standing outside the home. She explained that she and her ex-husband, 41-year-old Aaron Voigt, had gone to a festival together that evening, and on the way back, he drove past their driveway and up toward their barn. She said he got out of the car to relieve himself and then came around to the passenger side of the car. She said she was on her phone, and Voigt did not like who she was talking to and called her a “slut.”

She explained that she tried to call their son for help, but Voigt took her phone, so she locked the screen, and it hung up. According to the criminal complaint, the woman said after that; everything was “kind of a blur.”

She said Voigt punched, hit, and dragged her around the car and kicked her to the ground. Then she said the assault went from physical to sexual as she said he forced her to perform a sex act on him and then raped her. At one point, she said Voigt shoved his hand down her throat and applied pressure to her neck so she couldn’t breathe. She said he told her she was going to die and called her worthless throughout the assault.

She said Voigt eventually let her go, and she went inside and woke up their son so she could call for help because Voigt had her phone. According to the criminal complaint, the son refused to hand over his phone, but she was able to call for help from an old device.

The criminal complaint says the son told investigators his mom and Voigt left at about 8:30 p.m. September 25th and got home around 3:30 a.m., and they were arguing. He said his mom came into his room and said that Voigt had abused her. After she left the room, he said Voigt came in and gave him his version of what happened. The boy said Voigt told him he thought she fell and confirmed that his mom tried calling him at about 1:00 a.m., but he couldn’t hear anyone on the other end but said he heard music.

In a statement to police, Voigt said he and the woman left the festival between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m., and they drove straight home. He allegedly told investigators that in the short distance between the festival and home, the woman “all of a sudden started acting crazy” and said he never touched her and that her injuries must have been self-inflicted or caused by her falling. He said she also cracked his windshield but couldn’t explain how. He also denied sexually assaulting her.

Investigators checked Voigt’s vehicle and said they found blood in various spots on the car’s interior. The windshield was also broken, and ” it appeared as though it had been wiped off near the broken glass.” Strands of the woman’s hair were also found in the front passenger side door handle and the back passenger side C-pillar.

Voigt was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, third-degree assault, domestic assault by strangulation, and felony threats of violence. Prosecutors have also filed a notice to seek aggravating factors in the case, including particular cruelty, which, if convicted and the judge accepts the motion, would add time to Voigt’s sentencing. Bail was set at $750,000 without conditions, $300,000 with.
Voigt’s next court appearance is October 11th.

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