Rolla man found guilty of rape, tying up woman

A Rolla man was found guilty Tuesday of rape, sodomy, burglary, and felonious restraint in a June 2014 hostage incident.

Court documents said 37-year-old Jason Bruce broke into a Rolla home and took a woman hostage.

Bruce apparently threatened her life if she made a noise before tying her up and raping her.

After several hours, she was able to convince Bruce she wouldn’t tell anyone, so he left the house.

Investigators later interviewed Bruce, who initially said he didn’t know the victim, but eventually admitted he did. Bruce said he had been to her house a few days before the incident, but said he was not at her house the night she was raped.

Investigators found Bruce’s DNA on the victim and both his and the victim’s DNA on his clothing.

Bruce has a prior rape conviction from Florida in 1998, and had been out of prison for about a year before committing this rape in Rolla.

He’s set to be sentenced on December 10.