Illlinois Man In Court Charged With Decade-Old Assaults

A 48-year-old Illinois man appeared in court in Sauk County Tuesday and was charged with assaulting and stalking a former girlfriend more than a decade ago. According to the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, the charges against Wendell Gist are connected to crimes between March 2011 and May 2012, with an additional stalking charge causing harm spanning nearly eight years.  A criminal complaint says the victim came forward to authorities in 2020, stating that Gist nearly drowned her in the bathtub of a West Baraboo motel, strangled her with a towel and sexually assaulted her.  Court records state Gist also severely burned the woman with a hair straightener.  Gist, who was arrested on a warrant on Monday, had his bond set at $50,000.