A Lewis County man has been charged with rape following an alleged assault Saturday night in the Town of Diana.
According to New York State Police, troopers from the Carthage and Lowville barracks responded at approximately 10:58 p.m. to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Old State Road.
When troopers arrived, they found an unoccupied vehicle stopped in the roadway. Police said a woman then emerged from a nearby wooded area visibly injured, covered in blood and dirt, and missing clothing. Investigators said the victim yelled for troopers to keep a man away from her as he allegedly pursued her from the woods.
Troopers identified the suspect as 40-year-old Zachary Strough of Natural Bridge. Police said Strough resisted troopers during his arrest.
According to investigators, Strough and the victim had been involved in an argument while traveling on Old State Road. Police allege Strough struck the victim multiple times while she was inside the vehicle before stopping the car, forcibly removing her, dragging her into a wooded area, physically assaulting her, and forcibly subjecting her to sexual acts.
Strough was charged with first-degree rape, a Class B felony, and resisting arrest.
He was arraigned in West Turin Town Court and remanded to the Lewis County Jail in lieu of bail.
State Police said the victim was treated at Carthage Area Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries before being transferred to Upstate University Hospital.
The investigation remains ongoing.
