Man Who Allegedly Raped, Strangled Girl Also Faces Attempted Murder

The West Haven man who allegedly choked a girl until she passed out and raped her in an isolated area of Middletown was charged this week with attempted murder, according to the Hartford Courant.

Robert Andrews, 34, of Brown Street, West Haven, is facing a host of other charges including sexual assault and strangulation after an alleged attack on Nov. 17.  At 5:32 p.m., that day, police were called to a home on Bow Lane by a 15-year-old female who said Andrews had assaulted her, according to the report. 

At the hospital, police say, medical staff said the marks on the girls face were "petachiae" which are broken capillary blood vessels that appear after being choked, and they were "shocked that the victim was still alive considering the severity of her injuries." 

The victim, the report says, was staying in a Department of Children and Families home in Manchester.

Police say Andrews admitted the two had consensual sex and the girl, who said she knew him for three years after babysitting for his child, had a red mark around her neck that looked like it came from a ligature.

Andrews could face more than 100 years in prison, according to the Courant, adding state prosecutor Russell C. Zentner tried to persuade the Middletown Superior Court judge to increase his bond from $250,000 to $500,000.

He was charged with risk of injury to a child, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree strangulation and first-degree aggravated sexual assault.

Andrews is due back in court on Jan. 14.

• PD: West Haven Man Raped, Strangled Girl Who Left DCF Facility