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Police: Michael Kotwicki Arrested For Sexual Assault, Holding Woman Against Her Will In Upper Darby Township

UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- Police have arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Upper Darby Township. Authorities say Michael Kotwicki was taken into custody Tuesday night.

Upper Darby Township Police responded to an apartment complex for help Sunday morning, after a woman claimed she was raped, abused and held against her will.

But police say Kotwicki dove out the kitchen window of a third-floor apartment complex on South Oak Avenue and got away.

A three-day-long nightmare had ended after, police say, the accuser was able to text her mother a desperate message for help once Kotwicki fell asleep.

That followed days, where according to a criminal complaint, the accuser told police she was repeatedly assaulted and her life and the life of her son were repeatedly threatened.

"It looked like the relationship was gonna end and he wasn't gonna have that, and again, held her against her will since Friday evening -- repeatedly strangled, beat her, and sexually assaulted her," Upper Darby Township Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhart said.

Police say the accuser knew her attacker through a brief and rocky relationship.

Between Friday and Sunday, court records allegedly show the accuser attempted to escape with her baby unsuccessfully and only further infuriated Kotwicki.

At times, police say Kotwicki threatened to tie, gag and lock her in a closet after he allegedly warned he would break her teeth.

Police emphasize how lucky the accuser got in this matter.

"She was able to text a family member, asking that family member to call 911 and have the police sent, so thankfully she was able to do that or God knows what else would've happened here," Bernhart said.

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