SANDPOINT — A Blanchard man is being ordered to stand trial for allegedly raping and kidnapping a former girlfriend near Spirit Lake last month.

Judge Lori Meulenberg found during a preliminary hearing that there was sufficient evidence to justify trying Joe Frederick Ransom after the alleged victim gave a harrowing account of her ordeal, according to court documents.

The 52-year-old woman testified that she and Ransom were in a romantic relationship for several months, but had amicably parted ways.

She began seeing someone else, which she testified angered Ransom, court records indicate. Ransom showed up in the woman’s driveway when he saw the other man’s truck there.

The following day, April 22, the woman testified that she agreed to accompany Ransom to bars in Blanchard and Spirit Lake. En route back to the woman’s cabin, the woman told the court Ransom pulled over, berated her for seeing another man and backhanded her hard.

The woman testified that Ransom calmly confessed to planning her killing for several days and urged her to make peace with God.

Once inside, Ransom allegedly grabbed her by the throat and told her she had broken the rules by allowing another man into her home, the woman testified. She begged Ransom not to harm her, emphasizing that she has children and grandchildren and that he would be connected to her killing.

Ransom, the woman testified, calmed slightly but ended punching her in the head, which knocked her to the ground. Ransom proceeded to pick her up and throw her down before ordering to disrobe and threatening to mutilate her with a pocketknife, court records state.

Ransom obtained a kitchen knife and tried to goad her into stabbing him, according to hearing testimony. He later forced her to lie in bed with him and ultimately had sex with her against her will.

The woman testified she did not resist out of fear and did not flee the bed because Ransom had her in a headlock. Ransom, she said, left the next morning to eat breakfast, but she did not flee because he told her she could not leave. She suspected that Ransom was watching the home, but discovered he was not when he called her from another location.

The woman told the court she left the cabin, alerted authorities and underwent a rape examination.

Bonner County sheriff’s Det. Sgt. Gary Johnston testified of photos that documented the woman’s injuries. Johnston told the court that Ransom initially denied having sex with the woman, but later admitted. He denied all of the other allegations when he was questioned, Johnston said.

Ransom, 53, invoked his Fifth Amendment right during the May 18 preliminary hearing and did not testify, records show.

Meulenberg bound Ransom over to 1st District Court to stand trial. She also approved a warrant for a swab of Ransom’s cheek to establish DNA evidence in the case, according to court documents.

Ransom is being held at the county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. His arraignment hearing is pending.

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 in 2006. He was released in 2014, the Florida corrections website said.