Blanchard man accused of rape and kidnapping

SANDPOINT — A Blanchard man was arrested Saturday for allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman he had dated off and on.

Joe Fred Ransom was ordered held on Monday in lieu of $250,000, according to court documents. Bonner County Magistrate Lori Meulenberg ruled that Ransom did not qualify for the appointment of a public defender.

A preliminary hearing on charges of first-degree kidnapping and rape is pending.

A criminal complaint alleges that Ransom, 53, committed the kidnapping with the intent of raping the alleged victim and/or committing serious bodily injury.

The complaint further alleges that the 51-year-old woman’s was resistance to the rape was prevented because he threatened to kill her while brandishing a knife.

A sheriff’s detective testified at a probable cause hearing that Ransom and the woman had visited bars together early Saturday morning and were driving back to her place near Spirit Lake when he backhanded the woman in the face.

Ransom was reportedly angry because she had been seeing another man and allowed other men to be in her home, probable cause hearing testimony indicates.

Ransom allegedly threatened to kill the woman and burn her house down.

Upon their arrival at the woman’s home, Ransom unleashed more than a dozen blows and attempted to get the woman to stab him in the chest.

At another point in the ordeal, Ransom told her to make amends with her higher power and to call her children and say goodbye to them, court records indicate. He also allegedly threatened to torture her.

Toward the end of the four-hour episode, Ransom allegedly raped the woman.

Ransom ultimately left the residence and the woman alerted the authorities.

Ranson denied having sexual contact with the woman when he was confronted by investigators about the woman’s allegations, court records indicate.

Ransom was prosecuted for attempted second-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault in Escambia County, Fla., in 1996, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

He was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2006. He was released in 2014, the Florida corrections website said.