GREAT FALLS – Joseph Walter Allen has been charged after an elderly woman reported that he had abused her and held her against her will in her home.
Court documents state that the woman told officers that Allen had been abusing her and had not allowed her to leave her apartment since he moved in with her three months ago.
When questioned by police, Allen denied the charges, but did say that he has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and frequently cleans the house and himself.
The woman, who is 67 years old, told police that Allen spends all of her money on Clorox disinfectant wipes and Lysol, and that she is not free to come and go as she wants. She alleged that when she tries to leave, Allen blocks the door, and she is afraid that if she tried to push past him, he would “hit her as he did when they lived in Colorado,” according to the court documents.
The woman claimed that Allen would spray her with Lysol and force her to clean herself with Clorox wipes, including the inside of her mouth. She said that Allen sprays Lysol on her to the point that her hair is “dripping wet,” and he made her suck on Clorox wipes until her tongue burned.
Court documents also state that Allen threatened her with kitchen knives, saying he’d kill her if she left the home. He also is accused of breaking several items inside the woman’s home.
Allen told police that he never forced her to clean herself with Clorox wipes and Lysol, but he did admit that he had been violent with her when they lived in Colorado.
Court documents also state: “While discussing Allen’s relationship with (the woman), he compared it to a person owning a dog.”
The charging documents also note Allen was charged with similar crimes in Colorado in 2013 involving the same woman, including kidnapping, assault, and damage to property. In those cases, Allen pleaded guilty to felony assault, and the case was deferred and dismissed.
Allen, 32 years old, is charged with three felonies: assault with a weapon, kidnapping, and elder abuse.
Prosecutors requested that bond for Allen be set at $40,000.
