Sandpoint man faces rape charge

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man was arrested last weekend on a charge of rape.

Judge Debra Heise set Paul Anthony Staffiero’s bail at $100,000 on Monday and ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victim, according to court documents.

Staffiero’s attorney, Michael Waldrup, has already entered a not guilty plea on the man’s behalf and seeks to have the bail reduced. A hearing on the bail reduction is set for today.

Staffiero, 31, was arrested after the woman told officers the man crawled into her bed early Sunday morning and forced sex on her, a police report said. The woman told police she complied with Staffiero’s demands out of fear that she would be killed, the report said.

A criminal complaint alleges that he struck the 38-year-old woman and bit her hands during the attack. The police report indicates the woman was urinated on and eight stitches were required to close a wound to a back of her head.

One police report indicates Staffiero agreed to be interviewed, but the supplemental reports concerning the interview were not filed as of Monday.

The defendant and the alleged victim were in the process of reconciling their relationship, but had parted company the previous evening following an argument, a police report said.