x
Breaking News
More () »

Man charged after allegedly raping, strangling woman along Bloomington road

Rodrigo Curiel is charged with rape, strangulation and resisting police after a brief escape from the Monroe County Jail.
Credit: WTHR/Dustin Grove

INDIANAPOLIS — The Monroe County prosecutor has charged a man with three counts of rape with the imminent threat of force, strangulation and resisting police. 

Just before 6 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, a woman told Bloomington police officers that she had been raped along West 17th Street in Bloomington.

The woman said she was walking from a gas station after buying a drink when she was attacked. 

She told police a man grabbed her form behind and forced her into a ditch while wielding a box cutter. The woman told police the man "told her multiple times he was going to kill her." 

The woman said she tried to dial 911, but the man grabbed her phone. She said the man then raped her in the ditch. 

Police say when she made the report, she was covered in mud, had bruises on her arms and a cut on her neck. 

RELATED: IU student, charged with raping 2 women in 1 week, arrested on warrant

Police said they identified the suspect's car and used license plate readers to track where it went. 

On Monday, Oct. 1, investigators found the car and took Rodrigo Curiel, of Bloomington, into custody. 

He was interviewed and then taken to the Monroe County Jail. Police say while he was in the sallyport of the jail, Curiel ran out with his handcuffs still on. 

Police said Curiel made it almost to Bloomington City Hall before being tackled by police and brought back to the jail.

RELATED: Uber driver charged with murder, rape and abuse of a corpse in missing Indianapolis woman's death

Before You Leave, Check This Out