SANDPOINT — Proceedings were delayed Wednesday in a rape and kidnapping case.

A preliminary hearing in the case against Joe Fred Ransom was postponed while he arranges for legal counsel, according to court documents.

The hearing is being reset, although a date is pending.

Ransom is accused of holding a 51-year-old woman against her will at her residence near Spirit Lake on April 23. Ransom and the woman had a sporadic dating relationship, a probable cause affidavit said.

Ransom and the woman visited bars prior to heading back to her place. Ransom was upset the woman had seen other men and threatened to kill her and burn her cabin down, court documents indicate. Ransom allegedly rained down more than a dozen blows and attempted to get the woman to stab him in the chest.

Ransom allegedly threatened to torture the woman and raped her toward the end of a four-hour ordeal, court records said. A criminal complaint alleges that the woman’s resistance was overcome by threats of death that were issued while Ransom held the knife.

Ransom, a 53-year-old Blanchard resident, left the residence and the woman alerted authorities. Ransom denied having any sexual contact with the woman, court records said.

Ransom was prosecuted for attempted second-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault in Escambia County, Fla., in 1996, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison. He was released in 2014, the Florida corrections website said.

Ransom is being held at the Bonner County Jail while his case is pending. His bail is set at $250,000.