LEWISTON — Police say a local man followed a woman to her apartment Saturday, forced his way inside, and raped her as she pleaded for him to stop.

Horow Omah Hagi, 43, of 29 Knox St., was charged Tuesday with gross sexual assault after a local woman reported that he forced her to have sex with him, then stalked her for two days after the incident.

At the time of his arrest, Hagi was on probation for stalking a 14-year-old newspaper delivery girl. Given his criminal record and the seriousness of the new charge, a District Court judge has ordered that he be held without bail.

“The state is very concerned about the alleged victim’s safety,” District Attorney Norm Croteau argued Thursday during Hagi’s initial court appearance.

Police say Hagi and his victim did not know each other.

According to an affidavit by Lewiston Police Detective James Theiss, the woman was walking to her apartment on Lisbon Street Saturday when she noticed a man staring at her from a nearby doorway.

The woman said the man, later identified by police as Hagi, approached her as she walked toward her apartment building and asked if she smoked pot or drank alcohol. She noticed that his speech was slurred and his breath smelled of alcohol, the affidavit says.

The woman told police that Hagi started to grab her breasts on top of her shirt. She attempted to bat his hand away, she said, but he didn’t stop. Then he followed her to her apartment door while telling her that he loved her and he would treat her good.

“She told the suspect to stop touching her and leave her alone, but the suspect ignored her pleas,” Theiss wrote in his statement.

According to the affidavit, Hagi followed the woman into her apartment and started to take off her clothes. The woman said she didn’t fight because she was scared the man would become violent.

Hagi eventually made the woman give him oral sex, then he forced her to have intercourse without a condom, the affidavit says.

The woman told police that she was afraid to move after the incident. She said she remained still on her bed as Hagi took a shower, then left.

She didn’t call police until Monday morning when Hagi showed up at her door, police said. Hagi was gone when officers arrived. But, according to the affidavit, he returned the next day.

Police found Hagi walking on Chestnut Street Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to the police station for questioning and charged after the victim identified him in a six-person lineup, the affidavit says.

A defense lawyer who represented Hagi at Thursday’s court appearance said Hagi claims the woman wanted to have sex with him, which is why he went back to visit her Monday and Tuesday.

Hagi’s arrest came less than a month after he pleaded guilty to stalking a local teen. He was convicted of that charge on June 24 and sentenced to two days in jail, followed by one year of probation.

If convicted of rape, he could be sentenced to 40 years in prison.