Police: Man Choked Woman Unconscious, Raped Her

(KNSI) – A man is accused of choking a woman unconscious and raping her in St. Cloud. Police say 29-year-old Markus Alan Ost sexually assaulted the woman on February 7th. Investigators say Ost and the woman were arguing outside a friend’s apartment in St. Cloud. The woman gave a statement and said that she and Ost left her friends and went back to their home.

The victim says as soon as they walked inside, he was physically and verbally abusive to her. She said there was a struggle over her purse, and Ost took her credit cards, license, keys, and phones. When the two got into the bedroom, she says Ost became obsessed over finding a key that she had hidden.

According to the criminal complaint, Ost pushed her onto the bed on her stomach. He then stripped her of all of her clothes. She says he went her face into the mattress as she tried to crawl away from him towards the other side of the bed. Police say at some point, the woman was flipped around to her back while trying to crawl away when Ost punched her in the face.

Investigators say he put both hands around the woman’s neck and strangled her to the point that she lost consciousness. When she woke up, the woman said that Ost was kissing her and giving her “mouth to mouth.” She says he was forcibly having sex with her. She says she tried to push Ost away but was unable to and couldn’t say anything due to her voice being out and not being able to breathe.

The victim told police she had a sore neck. Police say she also had a swollen and bloody lip and a bruise on her arm. Ost had bail set at $150,000. He’s been charged with criminal sexual conduct in the 1st degree and 3rd degree.

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