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PLAINS TWP. — A township man charged in 2018 with sexually and physically assaulting a woman was captured in South Korea, township police announced on their Facebook page.
James C. Meininger, 35, was charged with felony offenses of strangulation, sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and indecent assault in connection to an incident on Sept. 22, 2018.
According to an affidavit, a woman claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Meininger after an argument became physical Route 115 in Plains Township.
Meininger accused the woman of lying to him about going out with friends while he was in prison. He allegedly began choking her and punching her in the face and ribs. The woman told police that she was able to escape the vehicle and run for help, but she was unable to flag down a car for help.
Meininger then exited the vehicle they were in, the woman told police, threatening to jump from the Coal Brook dam. She tried to get back in the vehicle and lock the doors, but he got back in before she could. He allegedly ordered her to drive to the hospital.
She drove the vehicle to the Geisinger Urgent Care on East Mountain Boulevard, as can be seen on surveillance footage, where she says he raped her in the vehicle. They drove away afterward, and the was later seen at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Hospital for her injuries.
An arrest warrant was issued by District Judge Joseph D. Spagnuolo Jr. in Plains Township on Dec. 12, 2018.
Meininger was also charged on allegations of violating a protection-from abuse order, police said.
Police said Meininger was captured in South Korea, where he was deported and transported to Los Angeles and taken into custody by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this week.
It was not immediately known when Meininger will be returned to Luzerne County.