CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. — Police have charged a 26-year-old man accused of holding his girlfriend against her will at his Connellsville apartment on Thursday.
Police said they received a call from a woman who said her friend had just escaped Chad Echard’s apartment along Gibson Terrace.
The victim, a 17-year-old girl, told police Echard struck and beat her, keeping her in the apartment from 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., when she was able to run away.
Police said Echard and the victim had been in a relationship for the past three years and have a child together.
Neighbors told police they heard a woman screaming and saw Echard assault and threaten to kill her if she contacted police.
Echard was taken into custody. He is charged with unlawful restraint, statutory sexual assault and other charges. He’s being held in the Fayette County Jail on $15,000 bond.