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May 31. 2012 9:34PM
Wilton man charged with sexually assaulting woman
WILTON — A Burns Hill Road resident was being held on $75,000 cash bail after allegedly raping and sexually assaulting a woman he had met on an Internet dating site.
Joseph J. Martell, 34, of 222 Burns Hill Road, was arrested Tuesday after police received a complaint from a woman that Martell had sexually assaulted her repeatedly from Sunday to Monday at his home, police said.
According to Police Chief Brent Hautanen, the woman who had met Martell over “a social dating site,” reported the incident involving “multiple assaults” to police on Monday. A search warrant of Martell’s home was executed on Tuesday, Hautanen said, and police then arrested Martell, who was arraigned in the 9th Circuit Court Milford Division on Wednesday morning.
Martell is facing eight felony charges of aggravated sexual assault and is being held on high cash bail at Valley Street Jail pending a probable cause hearing in Milford on July 10.
The recent arrest isn’t Martell’s first run-in with the law.
In January, Martell was arrested twice on a domestic abuse charge. According to court documents on file at the 9th Circuit Court Merrimack District, he was arrested on Jan. 14 by Merrimack police after assaulting his live-in girlfriend at their home on East Ridge Drive.
During the assault, which began because Martell’s dog had been biting the couple’s children, he bent back his girlfriend’s wrist and tried to slam her hand in a closet door as she was packing up and trying to leave the house, according to court documents.
The woman obtained a restraining order against Martell, ordering him to stay 100 yards away from her, but he allegedly violated that order Jan. 29 and was subsequently arrested.
Martell was convicted of simple assault and ordered to pay a $300 fine. He was also given a 30-day jail sentence, suspended for one year on the condition of good behavior. His arrest in the Wilton sexual assault case could trigger that 30-day sentence to be imposed.
The records in the sexual assault case have been sealed because the case is still under investigation.
Joseph J. Martell, 34, of 222 Burns Hill Road, was arrested Tuesday after police received a complaint from a woman that Martell had sexually assaulted her repeatedly from Sunday to Monday at his home, police said.
According to Police Chief Brent Hautanen, the woman who had met Martell over “a social dating site,” reported the incident involving “multiple assaults” to police on Monday. A search warrant of Martell’s home was executed on Tuesday, Hautanen said, and police then arrested Martell, who was arraigned in the 9th Circuit Court Milford Division on Wednesday morning.
Martell is facing eight felony charges of aggravated sexual assault and is being held on high cash bail at Valley Street Jail pending a probable cause hearing in Milford on July 10.
The recent arrest isn’t Martell’s first run-in with the law.
In January, Martell was arrested twice on a domestic abuse charge. According to court documents on file at the 9th Circuit Court Merrimack District, he was arrested on Jan. 14 by Merrimack police after assaulting his live-in girlfriend at their home on East Ridge Drive.
During the assault, which began because Martell’s dog had been biting the couple’s children, he bent back his girlfriend’s wrist and tried to slam her hand in a closet door as she was packing up and trying to leave the house, according to court documents.
The woman obtained a restraining order against Martell, ordering him to stay 100 yards away from her, but he allegedly violated that order Jan. 29 and was subsequently arrested.
Martell was convicted of simple assault and ordered to pay a $300 fine. He was also given a 30-day jail sentence, suspended for one year on the condition of good behavior. His arrest in the Wilton sexual assault case could trigger that 30-day sentence to be imposed.
The records in the sexual assault case have been sealed because the case is still under investigation.
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