— A Durham man was charged Monday with sexually assaulting a 68-year-old disabled woman.

Michael Brooks Jr., 44, of 323 Chestnut St., is charged with felony assault on a handicapped person, first-degree forcible rape, first-degree kidnapping, assault by strangulation and misdemeanor larceny. He was arrested in Raleigh and was being held in the Wake County jail under a $1.5 million bond.

According to arrest warrants, Brooks choked the woman on Sept. 11 until she lost consciousness and blood dripped from her eyes. He then raped her and stole her underwear, the warrants state.

Brooks is a registered sex offender with a criminal history dating to the mid-1990s, with convictions for assaulting a female, sexual battery and breaking and entering, among others, according to state Department of Public Safety records.