LUMBERTON, NC (WBTW) – A Robeson County man has been charged and is accused of sexually assaulting and holding a woman against her will.
The Raeford Police Department arrested Charles Ernest Lee, 41, of Lumberton, around 9 a.m. Friday after responding to a 911 call at a convenience store, according to a press release from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. Lee is charged with “first degree kidnapping, felonious restraint, first degree rape, assault on a female and communicating threats.”
The RCSO responded to the store in Raeford in reference to a woman “stating she had been kidnapped as she exited her residence in Lumberton around 5:30 am to go to work,” the release said.
The woman reportedly said that Lee attacked her, forced her into her vehicle, and that she was held against her will and assaulted for several hours by Lee.
The woman was able to get away from Lee while at the store, ran into the store, and reportedly told the clerk she had been assaulted, according to the release. A store employee then called 911.
Lee allegedly entered the store looking for the woman and “attempted to flee when Raeford Police Department arrived.”
“During the investigation, the female stated that she was sexually assaulted and threatened while being held against her will,” added the release.
Lee is also charged with violation of pretrial release, and is being held without bond at the Robeson Co. Detention Center.
The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCSO at 910-671-3170.
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