A 21-year-old Philadelphia man is in a Montgomery County prison after police say he admitted to choking his ex-girlfriend with a belt and raping her at a suburban SEPTA train station late at night on March 16.
Alexi Nicolai Katsenelinboige of the 900 block of North 26th Street is facing rape, aggravated assault and other related charges after he called 911 and told authorities "he feared he really hurt her" following the brutal assault inside a vestibule on the inbound side of the North Wales train station near the 400 block of School Street, according to police.
In response to the 911 call, officers was dispatched to the train station just after midnight March 17, police records show.
According to the police affidavit, an officer says the suspect flagged him down, told him he raped his girlfriend about an hour earlier and then pointed out the victim, who was standing in the area.
Police records show Katsenelinboige and the victim attended a birthday party for his brother at the suspect's mother's home in the afternoon on March 16 and the victim accompanied the suspect to the station, where he planned to catch a train back to his Philadelphia residence.
They sat inside the heated vestibule, chatting and eating snacks, as they waited for the train to arrive, when the suspect took off his belt and began beating her with it, police records show.
The victim tried to walk away from Katsenelinboige, but he wrapped the belt around her neck from behind and began choking her until she passed out, police say.
The suspect told police the victim was gasping for air, so "he loosened the belt and asked her if she was still breathing," before he began choking her with his hands and pulling her hair, according to the complaint.
Katsenelinboige then forced the victim to perform a sex act while she was on her knees, even though she repeatedly told him "No" and tried multiple times to escape, the complaint says.
Next the suspect forced the victim to lay on the floor of the vestibule, pulled her pants down and raped her -- all while she told him "Stop - No" and cried, police records show.
Katsenelinboige told authorities "he realized that he had raped her" afterwards and tried to talk to the victim, who started running away and telling him not to touch her.
Officers transported the suspect and the victim separately to the North Wales police headquarters, where individual interviews were conducted.
After taking her statement, authorities transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment and evidence collection, police records show.
Unable to post $25,000 bail, Katsenelinboige remains behind bars awaiting his preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.