Monroe, NC (Union County) police are looking for 36-year-old convicted sex offender Robert Louis Covington. (Shown in Photos) Police believe Covington sexually assaulted and nearly choked a woman to death in a Monroe cemetery early Sunday morning. Police say they have warrants against him for attempted murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and auto theft.
The sexual assault occurred around 2:30 a.m. in Lakeland Cemetery on Lancaster Avenue. Police declined to say whether the woman was targeted in the cemetery or taken there by force. The woman was tied up and sexually assaulted. She was choked until she lost consciousness. Her vehicle was then stolen. The woman was treated at Carolinas Medical Center in Union County.
Robert Louis Covington was released from prison two years ago after serving more than seven years on a 1997 charge of second-degree rape, prison records show. He is registered as a sex offender in Union County. Covington is scheduled to appear in Union County's Superior Court tomorrow on a kidnapping and assault charges that stem from an August 15, 2006 incident.If you have information about Robert Louis Covington's whereabouts, Monroe police ask you to call Union County Crime Stoppers, 704-283-5600 or 911. -The Charlotte Observer