Windom man charged with kidnapping woman

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WINDOM — A 36-year-old Windom man was charged Friday with first–degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping after forcing a victim to have sex and refusing to let her leave his apartment, carrying her back into the residence and taking her cell phone.

Cristobal Corona’s bail was set at $20,000 with the condition he not enter the victim’s residence, he submit to random testing, he abstain from alcohol or controlled substance use and he remain law abiding. As of Monday at noon, Corona was still in custody at the Cottonwood County Jail.

He has applied for and was granted a public defender.

According to the criminal complaint, the assault was reported in the early morning hours of Nov. 10 and was related to authorities by a third person, who said the victim had just arrived at her apartment in tears.

The responding officer spoke with the victim, who was crying and shaking. The officer reported several dark bruises on the victim’s neck.

The victim was at Corona’s apartment, she said, and they got into an argument, which escalated into him allegedly threatening to throw her Chihuahua out the window. She said she had a platonic relationship with Corona and had never been in any other kind of relationship with him.

The victim said Corona grabbed her wrists and forced her to a mattress on the floor, where he sexually assaulted her. Once he was finished, he allegedly would not her leave the apartment, taking away her phone. When she tried to get away, he picked her up from outside the apartment and brought her back inside, she told authorities.

He kept telling her not to call the cops, she said, and she kept saying she just wanted to leave. Finally, she reported, he let her get her car keys and go. She was in such a panic to get away, she said, she left her purse and her dog behind.

She described her assailant as a 36 year old male, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a heavy set build. She said she knew he had spent time in prison and was currently wanted in Mankato or New Ulm. She also stated she knew he had stabbed someone in New Ulm last year with a screwdriver.

A search warrant was obtained, and when authorities tried the keys they found on the porch by the door, it would not open. They ended up having to kick the door in and found that nails had been driven into the frame on the inside to prevent the door from opening. A small table had also been placed in front of the door.

Authorities found the apartment exactly as the victim had described and found her cell phone in the pocket of a pair of Corona’s discarded jeans. They also found articles of her clothing on a mattress and a hammer and pocket knife on the table within arm’s reach of the mattress.

Corona is scheduled to make a court appearance Nov. 22 in Cottonwood County District Court.

Tags: sexual assault, news, windom, crime, kidnapping, charged, charges