Thomas E. Brown, 35, of Wonder Lake.

A Wonder Lake man has been charged with strangling a woman and sexually assaulting her after prosecutors say the two met at a bar in Fox Lake.

Thomas E. Brown, 35, of Wonder Lake, was charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Francis DeRosa said a woman called 911 around 3:30 a.m. on October 25, 2021.

She was at Blueberry Hill bar in Fox Lake and asked for an ambulance after reporting that she snorted an unknown white powder with some men above the bar.

Paramedics transported her to the hospital where she underwent examination and police were called.

DeRosa said during a bond hearing that the woman reported she had gone to the bar with other friends and they had been drinking.

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She became “very drunk very quickly.”

The woman met a man at the bar named “TB,” which matched the description of Brown, DeRosa said.

The two reportedly went to Brown’s car and did lines of a white powdery substance, presumably cocaine.

They went back to the bar and then eventually left to meet a friend, DeRosa said.

The woman reported she blacked out and the next thing she remembered she was walking into a room.

DeRosa said Brown and the woman lied down on the bed and Brown took off her clothes.

The woman told Brown to stop but he continued and began sexually assaulting her, DeRosa said.

DeRosa said the victim repeatedly told Brown to stop but he wrapped his hand around her neck and began to strangle her.

Brown also allegedly spit on the woman’s face multiple times, DeRosa said. The woman was then dropped off at the bar and she called 911.

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Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak noted that Brown has some criminal history and has been previously sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections for one of his cases.

Potkonjak set bond at $300,000. Brown remains held in the Lake County Jail and would need to post $30,000 cash in order to be released.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 26.