Trial opens in prostitute rape-assault

FRENCH VALLEY, Calif., July 22 (UPI) -- A California prostitute who bit off part of the tongue of a man she said assaulted and raped her was the first witness at his trial.

The woman told a Riverside County jury Wednesday that Ronald Douglas McGowan, 34, grabbed her hair and dragged her around her Murrietta apartment, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. She said she was hit and restrained.

McGowan was arrested after he came to the emergency room at a Murrietta hospital for treatment of his injured tongue. Police found the missing piece near the alleged victim's apartment.

She testified that McGowan apparently believed he had a legitimate grievance against her, saying he had been "ripped off" during a previous encounter.

McGowan's lawyer hammered away at the alleged victim's occupation during cross-examination Thursday, The Californian of Bakersfield reported.

Because he has a previous sexual assault conviction, McGowan could get a life sentence if he is found guilty.