A 36-year-old woman claims that Sowell kidnapped, raped and tried to strangle her with an extension cord before she escaped, last September.
When police came to arrest Sowell, they found the first bodies that have focused international attention on his Imperial Avenue home. This morning, surrounded by a phalanx of county deputies, Sowell pleaded not-guilty to the seven charges against him, stemming from the September incident.
Judge John P. O'Donnell set bond at one million dollars. That's in addition to a five million-dollar bond already in place against Sowell for murder charges. Claiming a lack of financial resources, Sowell was assigned an attorney. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for next week.
In the meantime, the FBI plans to use thermal imaging equipment at the Sowell property over the weekend to search for further evidence connected to the eleven bodies discovered so far.
