Bangor man faces additional home invasion charges after claiming he was victim

A Bangor man was charged Wednesday after an incident last month where he allegedly attempted to rape a woman, then told police another man had attacked them both. 

Theodore Muellenberg is accused on felony counts of attempted sexual assault, burglary and strangulation.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of lying to police. 

Investigators believe Muellenberg attempted to rape an 18-year-old woman, before choking her unconscious, then claiming a masked burglar had actually attacked him.

At 11 a.m. May 30, the woman called police claiming she had been grabbed from behind and strangled unconscious as she was headed to her bedroom.

The masked intruder fled and the woman ran to Muellenberg’s house two doors down for help. Nobody was home, however, so she went to another neighbor’s home.

Fifteen minutes later, Mullenberg called police from his house, though authorities were already at the woman’s home.

Mullenberg, 18, said he fought the intruder, who then fled. The recent Bangor High School graduate also had a two-inch scratch on his forehead.

Tuesday, in an interview, Mullenberg admitted he entered her home through the unlocked garage and had a ski mask with him.

When asked why he did it, he told investigators, “Rape, I guess,” the complaint stated.

Muellenberg was released from La Crosse County jail and is on house arrest with GPS monitoring after posting $1,000 cash bond.