Ex-con charged with confining woman

Police in western Newfoundland charged a man with forcible confinement and uttering threats after a woman reported being held against her will by a man who threatened to kill her.

Matthew Francis O'Quinn, 34, was also charged with assault and breaches of probation during an appearance Tuesday at provincial court in Stephenville. O'Quinn remains in custody until at least another court appearance Wednesday in Corner Brook.

O'Quinn was arrested in Flat Bay Brook on Newfoundland's west coast on Monday night, hours after an employee at a convenience store in Stephenville Crossing reported that a woman was being assaulted there by a man.

RCMP said the woman, 18, told them the incident began earlier.

"She was held in hostage and confined that morning and physically assaulted — beaten and threatened, her life was threatened," RCMP Sgt. Boyd Merrill told CBC News on Tuesday.

"She was able to get the person to let her go in exchange for money if they could get to a cash machine. So they made it to this convenience store and she was able to barricade herself in the washroom until police arrived."

O'Quinn has been involved in at least two cases involving violence and women.

He was convicted in 2004 of confinement, after a woman was held in a tent for 30 days. He also used a tree branch to beat the complainant.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty to assault involving another woman and was given a 20-month sentence.

Police said the suspect in the Stephenville Crossing case fled on Monday once he realized that police had been called.