A Blountstown man was arrested Saturday for allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend captive against her will. Charles Benjamin Barbee, Jr., 38, has been charged with domestic battery and false imprisonment.
According to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Barbee’s ex-girlfriend contacted authorities around 2 p.m. Saturday and alleged Barbee attempted to rape her. The woman told Dep. John Scheetz she had dated Barbee for over a year, but recently ended the relationship. She said she called Barbee earlier that day and arranged to stop by the home they shared to retrieve some of her belongings. When the woman and her 10-year-old child went to the home, she said Barbee began to cry and begged her to stay. She told him it was over, then said he hugged her and told her he would miss her. Meanwhile, her child went outside to play and the woman said she finished rounding up her items. As she prepared to leave, she said she walked through Barbee’s bedroom to exit through a rear door. She told Dep. Scheetz, Barbee came into the bedroom, shoved her into a dresser, then locked the rear door, as well as the door to the bedroom, and told her she wasn’t leaving.
The woman alleged Barbee told her he was going to rape her, threw her on the bed, held down her arms, bit her face, then attempted to kiss her. The woman said he stated a specific sexual act he planned to do to her and made reference to sending her back to a new boyfriend “like that.” She alleged he whispered in her ear that he was “...going to put Satan” in her, then remarked, “But it’s okay, don’t cry.” The woman said Barbee suddenly seemed to “snap back” to the realization of what he was doing and began to cry. He eventually released her and told her to get out of his house. She took her child, fled, then called authorities. She stated Barbee never exposed his genitals during the incident.
Dep. Scheetz photographed the woman’s arms and noted redness on her wrists.
Barbee was interviewed and admitted he touched the woman’s hands, hugged and kissed her, and told her they were going to have sex, but said he was just kidding. He denied harming her in any way and said he never held her down on the bed and didn’t shove her against a dresser.
Due to the redness on her wrists, probable cause was found in the case, resulting in Barbee’s arrest. He was released from the Calhoun County Jail Sunday after posting a $10,000 bond.