Michigan man charged with torture after allegedly strangling, sexually assaulting girlfriend

DETROIT — WARNING: This article contains explicit details of physical and sexual violence.

A Michigan man is facing a host of felony charges after allegedly sexually assaulting and torturing his girlfriend for hours in the Detroit home they shared, prosecutors said.

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Jonathan Milamont Welch, 23, is accused of strangling his girlfriend with an electrical cord, burning her arms and legs with a metal spatula, dousing her with gasoline and threatening to assault her with a drill before attempting to sexually assault her with a pole, WJBK reported, citing a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

“The alleged horrific torture that our survivor suffered at the hands of the defendant will stop you in your tracks,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in the statement.

According to prosecutors, responding officers stated that the 22-year-old victim said that the alleged abuse began more than four hours before they were dispatched to the home at 7:24 a.m. June 2 for a report of domestic violence, MLive.com reported.

According to the news outlet, the victim alleged that she awoke to Welch sexually assaulting her at around 3 a.m. and refused to give him her cellphone password, enraging him and setting the alleged hours-long torture in motion.

The victim escaped the home while Welch was distracted and ran to a neighbor’s home for help. The neighbor called police, WJBK reported.

According to the TV station, Welch is charged with the following felonies:

• Torture
• First-degree home invasion
• Use/possession of a harmful device causing injury
• Second-degree criminal sexual conduct
• Assault with intent to commit sexual penetration
• Assault with intent to do great bodily harm
• Three counts of felony assault

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