A man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting, punching and strangling a woman on Friday in an underpass beneath Baseline Road.

Mark Wray, 54, is facing charges of felony criminal attempt; sexual assault — causes submission — rape; second-degree assault; and third-degree assault.

Wray is currently in custody on a $50,000 bond. He is set to next appear in court on Tuesday for his filing of charges.

Boulder District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shannon Carbone said the office requested a $100,000 bond.

“Our office wants to acknowledge the courage and strength of the victim coming forward,” Carbone wrote in an email. “Our office is committed to fighting for the victim and the right outcome in this case.”

Wray has more than 30 prior convictions in Boulder County since 2004 that are primarily sex offenses or assaults. In 2018, while a registered sex offender, Wray accepted a plea deal in a case in which he sexually assaulted a woman who had a problem with her car and pulled into a gas station on Baseline Road — approximately a quarter mile away from where the sex assault occurred on Friday. In 2010, Wray was arrested and later convicted of urinating on his wife’s head at the nearby Circle K.

According to an affidavit, at 8:42 p.m. Friday, Boulder police responded to an assault in the underpass on Baseline Road, just east of 28th Street. The suspect was described as a 57-year-old Black man who was wearing a gray hoodie, dark pants, gray beanie and boots. Police located Wray, who matched the description, in the underpass. Dispatch reported that the victim was in the McDonald’s at 2920 Baseline Road and police found her in the McDonald’s bathroom washing blood off her face.

The woman told police she was setting up her sleeping area in a tunnel near Circle K with her friend. Her friend got up to use the bathroom when Wray reportedly laid down in the friend’s bed. The woman told him that he needed to get out which angered him and prompted him to rip the covers off the woman, according to the affidavit.

Wray then reportedly tried to rip the woman’s underwear off and said, “I’m raping you right now.”

Wray then reportedly tried to penetrate the woman but was unable to and got mad. According to the affidavit, Wray then got on top of her and began to hit her with a closed fist and choke her. The woman told police she believed Wray hit her at least four or five times, causing her to almost lose consciousness. The woman also said she was unable to breathe due to the amount of pressure on her neck. When police asked the woman what she thought Wray’s intention was, she said, “To be honest, I think he was trying to kill me,” according to the affidavit.

The woman told police the assault last approximately 15-20 minutes and her friend tried to intervene but Wray was able to overpower both of them.

A man, who witnessed the assault, told police that he saw Wray “on top of the woman, hitting and choking her” and attempting to remove her underwear. The man reported that the victim repeatedly said, “No, get off me” and screamed for Wray to stop. The witness and another man were able to pull Wray off the woman and escorted the woman to the Circle K, according to the affidavit.

The woman said she washed the blood off her face and waited until she believed Wray calmed down to go back outside, as he had waited outside for her, according to the affidavit.

The woman laid back down in her bed when Wray reportedly attacked her again; this time hitting and choking her. The woman told police she believed Wray punched her at least five to seven times and choked her at least three times. The woman kicked Wray in the chest and neck and was able to get away, which is when she went to McDonald’s and called 911.

The woman told police she’s known Wray since she was 7 years old but they had never had an intimate relationship. She also told police, he had never assaulted her before. According to the affidavit, she told police she believed he had housing, was not sure why he was in the area and believed he targeted her.