'Don't Take My Life,' Woman Pleads As Boyfriend Allegedly Beats And Rapes Her In Order To Kill Unborn Baby

A Florida man is accused of beating, raping and threatening to kill his pregnant girlfriend in an attempt to kill their baby.

Joseph Bernard J. Combs, 20, of Gainesville, was arrested Friday on attempted murder, sexual battery, aggravated assault and kidnapping charges, according to online jail records. He's been jailed on a $3.5 million bond.

He’s accused of attacking his girlfriend, who he has been with for about a year, Friday morning. Before the attack, he allegedly told the victim, who is 19 weeks pregnant with his child, “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you have my son,” according to police paperwork obtained by the Gainesville Sun.

Then, he allegedly dragged his pregnant girlfriend into another room and beat her, kicking and punching her "repeatedly" in the stomach, according to an arrest report obtained by Oxygen.com.

At some point during the violent incident, the woman tried to flee down a flight a stairs but Combs allegedly grabbed her and kept punching and slapping her. At another point, he noticed that she was bleeding from the head, an injury he tried to clean with napkins before allegedly beating her again.

With a folding knife held to her throat, the woman pleaded with him “I’ll do anything, but don’t take my life,” according to the arrest report. At that point, Combs allegedly tried to force her to slit her own wrists with the knife.

Joseph Combs Photo: Alachua County Sheriff's Office

Then, he allegedly raped her.

The woman has suffered injuries, including extensive bruising on her stomach, arms, shins and breast as well as a swollen jaw and a bloody eye, the Gainesville Sun reports. The condition of the baby is unclear.

The arrest report states that the unborn baby "was deliberately targeted by [Combs] in an attempt to end it's [sic] life during the commission of both sexual battery and kidnapping."

It’s not clear if Combs has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf at this time.