Monroeville man on trial for allegedly raping, kidnapping woman

The trial for a Monroeville man who allegedly raped a woman with her two young daughters in the house, then tied her up and threw her in the back of a minivan before driving around with the children began this morning.

Calvin McDonald, 31, of Monroeville is charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping, rape and related offenses after attacking and restraining a woman over a period of 14 hours, according to a criminal complaint. His trial at the Allegheny County Courthouse began before Judge Alex Bicket.

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Police officers responded to a call for a violent domestic situation on June 17 at McDonald's home, and when they arrived the alleged victim was in a third-story window whispering for them to enter without knocking, according to the complaint.

The woman had blood-filled eyes, and marks on her neck, face and arms. Officers spoke to the two separately, and then arrested McDonald and took the woman to Forbes Hospital for medical attention, according to the complaint.

At the hospital, the woman told a detective that the couple had argued the night before, and McDonald went to bed while she slept on the couch, according to the complaint. Around 4 a.m., he woke her up and continued the argument, waking the children, ages 3 and 1.

McDonald threatened to throw her out and keep the children, and the woman began to gather belongings to leave, according to the complaint. McDonald complained that she had not had sex with him the day before and that “he was going to take it now.”

Because McDonald had grown violent when she had previously refused to have sex with him, she felt pressured to have sex with him. Afterward, she began getting the girls ready for daycare, according to the complaint.

McDonald and the woman began arguing again when he saw she was leaving with the girls, and he unplugged the garage door opener and took the girls out of a minivan, according to the complaint. He then choked her, as she was holding the younger girl, until she fell and passed out.

McDonald then bound her hands, legs and mouth with duct tape and rope, dragged her to the minivan and put her in the rear cargo area, where he covered her with clothes and boxes, according to the complaint. He put the girls in the minivan and then began to drive.

After hours of pleading, McDonald eventually pulled over and spoke to the woman, and she convinced him to unbind her and let her sit in the passenger seat, according to the complaint. He told her “that there was no turning back” and that he had “snapped” and done something similar to his ex-wife.

They eventually returned to the home around 5:30 p.m., where the woman began watching out of the window to ask someone to call police, eventually getting the attention of a neighbor about an hour later, according to the complaint.

Cox Media Group