Arnold police accuse man of raping woman after moving into her house uninvited

Arnold police accused a man of raping a woman after he moved into her house uninvited because his girlfriend and their three children were staying there temporarily.

Michael Jerome Jimenez, 37, of the 1500 block of Leishman Avenue in Arnold was charged with felony counts of rape and involuntary deviant sexual intercourse along with a count of indecent assault.

He was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond. He is ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing July 13 before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that in early April a woman reported she allowed her daughter and three grandchildren to live with her but would not permit Jimenez to join them.

The woman told police that Jimenez “made his way into the house” because her daughter said he had a right to see his children, police said.

The woman reported that her daughter told her that allowing Jimenez to live at the house was the only way she would be able to recover money that he owed her, the complaint said.

In a written statement to police, the woman said Jimenez regularly walked around the house performing lewd acts in front of her and the children, the complaint said.

She also told police that Jimenez brought drugs, alcohol and a gun into the apartment, police said.

The woman wrote in the statement that Jimenez made sexually suggestive comments to her and groped her in front of the children, according to the complaint.

She told police she tried to leave the house, but Jimenez refused to let her go and raped her while she was in the bathroom, the complaint said.