A transient man is facing a felony charge for allegedly assaulting a woman in a gravel pit because she refused to have sex, court documents indicate.

Prosecutors charged Christopher Smith, 35, in Island County Superior Court June 27 with assault in the second degree. It was charged as domestic-violence-related.

On June 26, an Oak Harbor police officer responded to a report that a man was beating a woman in the area of a gravel pit on Goldie Street in Oak Harbor.

The officer encountered Smith at the site. Smith allegedly admitted that he put his hand over his girlfriend’s face to stop her from screaming and that she had run off.

Another officer eventually found the woman, who was barefoot. She claimed she and Smith were arguing and he threw her to the ground; he then covered her mouth and nose and stopped her from breathing for about 10 seconds, the report states.

The woman said she panicked and feared that Smith was going to kill her. She was able to break free and ran from him, the report states.