KITTANNING — A man who held his former girlfriend hostage in her Worthington, Armstrong County, home and sexually assaulted her over three days was convicted Thursday.

A jury found Keith Kammerdeiner, 39, of Aliquippa, Beaver County, guilty of rape, unlawful restraint, risking a catastrophe and other charges for the incident Oct. 11.

Police contend Kammerdeiner bound the woman with zip ties and raped her at knife point for hours, then threatened to detonate a homemade bomb if police arrived. The woman escaped while Kammerdeiner was distracted and ran to a market where police were called.

The woman, who suffered cuts on her face and fingers during the ordeal told police that Kammerdeiner showed her some kind of device that he claimed was a bomb, which he used to hold police at bay. Police later said they did not find any explosives in the house. Neither did police find a knife that the woman said Kammerdeiner brandished in the assault.

Police surrounded the home only to find Kammerdeiner had escaped, though he was arrested the next morning in Pittsburgh.

Kammerdeiner, who was free on $150,000 bail, must return for sentencing in Armstrong County on Sept. 24.