Jury selection begins in Cedar Rapids kidnapping trial

Jury selection is under way in the kidnapping trial of a Cedar Rapids man accused of holding a woman against her will for about 10 hours and sexually assaulting her in 2011.

William Roby, 51, charged with first-degree kidnapping, is accused of forcing a 62-year-old woman into his apartment May 15, 2011, and holding her there for about 10 hours, according to the criminal complaint. The woman told police Roby sexually assaulted her three times during the incident.

The trial is expected to last four days. Attorneys said last week testimony could start Tuesday. If convicted, Roby faces life in prison without parole.

According to a search warrant affidavit, the woman entered the common area of Roby's apartment building and when she saw him, she ran up the stairs, but he caught her. He then dragged her into his apartment and threw her on the couch, locking the door behind him as she screamed for help.

She was held for nearly 10 hours and asked many times to leave, but Roby refused, according to the warrant. Roby forced her into his bedroom and forced her down on the bed, breaking the bed frame. He then forced her into the spare bedroom and sexually assaulted her three times. He threatened to kill her cat if she didn't comply and threatened to kill her and himself if officers showed up, the woman told police.

The woman finally convinced Roby to let her go so she could get ready for work the next day, according to the warrant. She called police when she got home, according to the warrant.

According to the warrant, the woman told police she already was scared of Roby because he sexually assaulted her two weeks before the kidnapping. The woman said she didn't report the first assault because she was acquainted with Roby and knew he had served time for stabbing an ex-girlfriend.

Roby told The Gazette in June 2012 that he was innocent of the kidnapping and he never sexually assaulted the woman.

Roby was free on bond pending trial until last August when his bond was revoked because he was charged in Webster County for violation of a protection order, assault causing serious injury and domestic abuse assault, for an incident involving his wife, Aleta Roby, 47.

Aleta Roby told The Gazette in September that she wanted to be identified because she didn't want anybody else to be hurt by her husband. She said her husband assaulted her last August in their Fort Dodge home, causing her injuries to her left ear drum, fractured her left eye and broke her dentures. She had attempted to leave him in the past but he threatened her children.

Roby was found guilty last month in Webster County on the two assault charges, according to court records.

Roby also was convicted in 1991 of attempted murder in Webster County.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was released on parole in 2000 because of good conduct, according to Iowa Department of Corrections records.