Man Pleads Guilty in ‘Brutal' East Windsor Rape Case

A convicted sex offender charged in a brutal attack in early March has pleaded guilty to several charges and will be sentenced to 28 years in prison, according to the court clerk's office. 

James Polk was charged with kidnapping and raping the woman after police caught him in the act at about 3 a.m. on March 5 at Power Service Concepts, the East Windsor business he manages.

He has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count each of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree strangulation.

The victim told police "she thought she was going to die," according to the warrant for Polk's arrest.

Police said the two met earlier that night at a club in town, Mardi Gras II, where the woman was a dancer.

According to the warrant, Polk claimed he wanted to hang out with the victim and told her he had marijuana. He brought her to the business in his pickup truck, which was still warm when police arrived, according to the warrant.

The woman told police that once inside, Polk repeatedly beat and raped her at knife-point, strangled her to the point where she couldn't breathe and even called one of his friends, urging him to join in. The friend declined, the warrant says.

The woman managed to call 911 as Polk raped her, according to the warrant. A dispatcher heard "heavy breathing" and a man's voice before the line went dead. She told officers she "had a bad feeling" about the call.

Before police arrived, Polk poured rubbing alcohol over the victim hoping to remove evidence, according to the warrant.

Officers at the scene shattered a window and broke down a locked office door to rescue the victim, who allegedly told police, "He raped me and tried to kill me!"

According to the warrant, Polk refused to surrender and told officers, "You are going to have to shoot me!" He then slit his own throat.

East Windsor Police Det. Matthew Carl said at the time of Polk's arrest that the victim's injuries were "brutal" and described the case as one of the worst he's ever seen.

This was not Polk's first run-in with the law.

Records show he's a convicted sex offender in three states: Connecticut, New Hampshire and Florida.

He is due back in court on Oct. 2 and will be sentenced to 28 years in prison, followed by 12 years of special parole.

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