FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man was arrested on accusations that he raped his ex-girlfriend and then threatened her with violence if she reported the attack, according to Fort Lauderdale police.

Police said officers on Dec. 5 responded to a report of a sexual battery. The victim told officers she was raped by Horace Lavon Ross, 46, a man she had known for about a year, according to his arrest report.

The woman said she met Ross while working at a plasma donation center where he donated plasma and that they briefly dated about a year ago but had not been in a relationship since, police said.

According to the report, the woman recently became homeless and arranged to stay at a home that rented rooms to homeless individuals.

The report stated the victim told police that Ross informed her she would not be allowed to stay unless she slept in his room. Because she had nowhere else to go, the woman agreed to sleep in a separate bed in his room, police said.

They said the victim told officers Ross repeatedly asked her to sleep in his bed and have sex, but she declined. On the morning of Dec. 5, she said Ross continued to pressure her despite her refusals and then raped her, according to police.

After the alleged rape occurred, Ross threatened to kill others in the house if she told anyone, the report stated.

The woman told police Ross later restrained her when she tried to leave the room and only released her after she said she had a job interview.

Another resident later warned Ross that the woman intended to call police, and Ross allegedly armed himself with a knife and demanded her phone, according to the report.

The woman told police she had never experienced that level of fear, the report stated.

Police said the woman told them that Ross had been attempting to have sex with her for at least three days before raping her and that she never intended to sleep with him, but stayed in the home temporarily while trying to secure money to leave.

She also told police that she wished to press charges.

Jail records show he is facing one count each of sexual battery on a victim 18 years or older and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

As of Friday, he was being held without bond at the Broward Main Jail.

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