Teen allegedly chokes woman, sexually assaults her

IDAHO FALLS — An 18-year-old man was arrested after allegedly attempting to strangle a woman while sexually fondling her.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Idaho Falls Police Department, on Aug. 19 at 1:40 p.m., an officer investigated a sexual assault that happened on Gettysburg Lane.

The victim, an 18-year-old woman, told the officer that Jacob Edward Nunez had choked her.

According to documents, the victim said she went into his room and tried to get him to talk to her. She said he made some comment about her hands being cold, so she placed them on his neck.

The victim then said Nunez grabbed her left arm and pulled her onto the bed. According to documents, Nunez rolled over and got on top of her and began choking her.

She told the police officer she tried to fight back and got Nunez’s hand off her neck, but he put it back and began squeezing very hard. She said she was hitting his arm and trying to pull it off, but his grip was too tight.

The victim said she was having difficulty breathing, felt light-headed and thought she was going to pass out.

She told police that Nunez also put his other hand up her shirt at the same time and touched her inappropriately. Then he suddenly let go and stepped away.

The victim told police that she left immediately. In documents, the victim told police that she and Nunez argued about the incident in text later, and he “admitted to being wrong and apologized for choking her.”

“I took pictures of (the victim’s) neck because there was a mark on her left side that looked like it could have been from a finger or thumb,” the officer wrote.

The officer tracked Nunez down and placed him under arrest.

“After telling Jacob what he was under arrest for, he became shaky and said, ‘I know you guys probably think I am a really bad person right now’, and ‘This is not something that should have happened,'” the officer wrote.

Nunez was placed in the backseat of the patrol vehicle. The officer then asked Nunez if he knew why he was there and why he was under arrest.

Nunez talked about a different sexual encounter, and before the officer could correct him, Nunez also began telling the officer about the incident with the victim.

“When I asked about him choking her, Jacob said (the victim) was bugging him trying to get him to talk and he wanted to sleep. He said he pulled her over on the bed and he wasn’t really at an angle to do too much damage. Jacob told me, ‘At that moment I realized I (explicative) up because I didn’t even, yeah…’ I asked Jacob about putting his hand up (the victim’s) shirt, and he told me he did, but ‘not in that way,’ and that he knew he had messed up,” documents said.

Nunez was charged with felony attempted strangulation and misdemeanor sexual battery.

He was given a $50,000 bond but has since posted it. He was issued a no-contact order toward the victim. Nunez is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at the Bonneville County courthouse at 1 p.m.