CUMBERLAND — A man accused of brutalizing a woman in a home in Cumberland faces charges of rape and several other criminal charges.
Nabil Zaim, 35, Cumberland, dragged the woman by her hair, punched her repeatedly and raped her, police said in a probable cause affidavit filed in support of the charges.
According to the affidavit, police were called to the home in the 2000 block of Cabin Hill Road on Friday, March 13, after a woman said Zaim had hit her in the face. It was the second time officers had been to the home that day.
The victim told police that after they left from the earlier call, Zaim assaulted her, punching her in the eye and kicking her in the ribs several times, the affidavit said.
The man reportedly dragged the victim by her hair up and down the stairs and pointed a firearm at her head and threatened to kill her. Then he raped her, the affidavit said.
Two young children were present in the home at the time, police said.
The man also broke the woman’s cellphone when she attempted to contact police, the affidavit said. Video evidence shows the victim going to a neighbor’s house to call police.
The woman was transported to Community Hospital North for treatment; the children were left in the care of a babysitter, the report said.
Police found a 9mm handgun in Zaim’s vehicle and a broken cellphone in a bedroom, the affidavit said.
During an interview at the Cumberland Police Department, Zaim told detectives he did not hurt the woman and that the sex he had with her was consensual. He accused the victim of making up the story, the affidavit said.
Zaim has been accused of a Level 3 felony count of rape; a Level 5 felony count of intimidation with a deadly weapon; a Level 6 felony count of confinement; a Level 6 felony county of domestic battery committed in the presence of a child younger than 16; and two misdemeanors.
Zaim appeared Monday, March 16, via video in Hancock County Superior Court 1 in front of Judge Marie Castetter. She handed down a $10,000 cash bond and issued a no-contact order against Zaim, who pleaded not guilty.
Another hearing is slated for March 30, while a pretrial conference is set for April 15.
As of press time, Zaim was still listed as an inmate in the Hancock County Jail.
