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| Josh Cozart |
A Marion man faces multiple felony charges in Paducah, including rape and assault, for allegedly kicking open the door to a woman's home Monday night, tying her up and sexually assaulting her.
The 48-year-old woman, who is not being identified, had an active Domestic Violence Order against Josh L. Cozart, 30, which prohibited him from contacting her.
According to Paducah Police Department reports, Cozart kicked open the door to the home on Pines Road. The report said Cozart and the victim were acquainted. The incident happened about 9 p.m., Monday.
Police allege that Cozart bound the woman and physically assaulted her before raping her. She was treated at Lourdes Hospital for fractured bones in her face and elsewhere, and released from the hospital.
Through their investigation, Paducah police learned that Cozart was at a home on Rochester Street in Marion on Tuesday afternoon. They called Marion Police Department and officers were dispatched to take Cozart into custody, which was done without incident. However, after arriving at the Marion Police Department and being put into an unlocked interrogation room, Cozart fled out the back door of city hall when no one was looking. He had not been officially arrested at that time.
Police and deputies responded immediately and caught him behind a home on South Main Street. He was cuffed and taken back to the police station to await Paducah authorities. Cozart was later picked up by Paducah detectives Michael Wentworth and Justin Crowell and lodged in the McCracken County Jail.
Cozart is charged with kidnapping, first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, second-degree assault and violation of an EPO/DVO.
