Hilltown Police: Man Beats, Rapes Woman He Held Captive On New Year's Day
HILLTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Hilltown police say a Bucks County man is behind bars for beating and raping a woman he held captive on New Year's Day. Curtis Fish, 48, of Hilltown, was arrested and charged with rape, kidnapping and other related charges.
It was a standoff situation that shut down part of Hilltown Township as police attempted to capture a man who allegedly raped, strangled and brutally beat a woman inside his home.
It was a scene Hilltown Township residents weren't used to seeing in their quiet town as police surrounded Fish's home on the 2000 block of Hilltown Pike, just before 8 p.m. Wednesday.
"You don't typically hear things like that happening right near where you live. It's kind of frightening," resident Justin Gallagher said.
It was a frightening situation for the woman who allegedly sparked the police investigation.
Police found the victim brutally beaten, bleeding from her mouth with both eyes nearly swollen shut.
The victim told police that Fish held her captive, strangled her with an electrical wire and "busted up her face."
"I was over at Curtis' and he freaked out on me. He held me down and choked me and did everything possible he could do," she told police, according to an affidavit.
The woman said this was the second time Fish assaulted her. The two are acquaintances but police did not say how.
The woman told police she was raped by Fish in the basement of the home and lost consciousness. She says she was also held in different rooms of the home.
Police say she also had bite marks around her fingers and bruises on both thighs.
She was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital. Her condition is not known.
"Everyone was kind of just confused last night because the roads were all blocked off and no one really knew what was going on," Gallagher said.
Another resident says she didn't know what was happening overnight until Thursday morning.
"I heard my husband's cellphone ring early, which was unusual. It was an automatic call from the school district letting us know that we wouldn't have bus service this morning for our kids because of police activity in the area," resident Ashleigh Renard said.
Fish was eventually taken into custody Thursday morning and Hilltown residents are relieved.
"The police officer was very reassuring that they had the situation under control, or that they were close to resolving it," Renard said.
Fish is currently being held on $850,000 bond.
CBS3 reporter Kimberly Davis contributed to this report.
