A man who owns an alcohol and other drug counseling center was charged with sexually assaulting and choking his ex-girlfriend.
Corie P. Hargrove, 47, of Racine, was charged by the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office with second-degree sexual assault, false imprisonment, strangulation and suffocation, and disorderly conduct. If convicted of all charges, Hargrove faces up to 52 years, nine months in prison and/or fined up to $121,000.
Hargrove owns Harvest Consulting Co. LLC, which offers mental health and alcohol and other drug counseling services, in Racine.
According to a criminal complaint by the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, Hargrove pressured a 42-year-old woman to have sex with him. When she refused, he forced her to have sex with him at 4 a.m. Sept. 3 at the White Brick Motel, 973 Sheridan Road in the Town of Somers. Hargrove told deputies that he and the woman had been using cocaine prior to the incident, the two had been in a sexual relationship and the sexual intercourse was consensual.
But the woman told investigators it was not consensual. They had been in an ongoing sexual relationship for several years, but the woman told the deputies “this time was different” and she only “gave up fighting only when she could not get” Hargrove off of her.
After the alleged sexual assault, Hargrove “reached out and put both of his hands around (the woman’s) neck,” and started choking her by pressing his thumbs on her windpipe. During this time, the woman told police she was unable to breathe for about a minute. Another woman was able to open the door and Hargrove stopped choking her.
The woman had red marks around her neck that were “consistent with being choked,” but Hargrove denied injuring the woman or choking her, according to the complaint.
He told deputies that the woman brought the cocaine to the room. He said she was accusing him of sexually assaulting him because she was “jealous” and has “anger issues.” He also repeatedly told the deputies that the woman was a prostitute, the complaint reads.
Hargrove is being held on a $20,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing has been set for 10:15 a.m. Thursday at the Kenosha County Courthouse.
Read the criminal complaint.
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