A 22-year-old Brooklyn Park man was charged Thursday with assaulting his girlfriend while allegedly holding her captive for three days.

David Lee Wilke was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree assault, felony domestic assault and threats of violence along with violating a no-contact order.

Wilke's 20-year-old girlfriend told police that Wilke held her "hostage for three days with a knife" in her apartment. On Tuesday, she called police from a bathroom at the Rondo Community Outreach Library in St. Paul after convincing Wilke that she had to go to the library to fax information to her employer. He insisted on accompanying her.

While in the bathroom, the woman called 911 and whispered that her boyfriend was trying to kill her. When the woman saw police at the library, she gestured with her head to Wilke and said, "I'm the one."

According to the criminal complaint:

The woman said she broke up with Wilke about a year after he assaulted her and had a no-contact order, which is in effect until September 2017. She said Wilke stayed at her apartment on and off because she was too afraid to refuse him, saying she was terrified for her life and her family.

When Wilke arrived at her apartment on Sunday, she told police that he threatened her with a knife and told her she could not leave. He repeatedly assaulted her over the three days, she told police. When she tried to jump from a second-floor bedroom window, she said Wilke stopped her, punching and choking her.

According to authorities, Wilke has three felony and one misdemeanor convictions related to domestic violence.

Mary Lynn Smith