Newberry County suspect choked woman who refused to have sex with him

Newberry County sheriff’s deputies have charged a man after he allegedly choked a woman who refused to have sex with him early Sunday morning, officials said.

Gino Rocco Pecori, 31, has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping after he allegedly sexually assaulted a co-worker at his home. Sheriff’s deputies were notified of a distressed female by a motorist who was traveling on U.S. 76, west of Newberry near Jalapa, at 1 a.m. When deputies met with the victim she told them that she and Pecori, a co-worker, went to Lake Murray for the afternoon. They then returned to Pecori’s home where he demanded the victim have sex with him.

After the victim declined to have sex with him, he began to choke the victim, threatening to choke her to unconsciousness if she did not have sex with him. As the sexual assault continued, the victim said she was able to get away from Pecori by telling him she was beginning to feel sick and escaped through the bathroom. She then ran to the nearby highway where she flagged down the motorist.

After deputies made repeated attempts to contact Pecori at his residence, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office Critical Incident Response Team forcibly entered Pecori’s residence to serve search and arrest warrants. Pecori was found in a den-area in the rear of the home and was taken into custody without incident.