Bail doubled for Conn. man in alleged sex assault

MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut judge has set $1 million bail for a Cheshire man accused of kidnapping two women at knifepoint and sexually assaulting one of them.

Forty-two-year-old Mark Altieri was arraigned Monday in Meriden Superior Court on charges including first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping.

He had been held on $500,000 bail. The Record-Journal reports that Altieri's public defender had argued his bail should be reduced to $250,000.

Cheshire police say the women, ages 18 and 42, told police early Saturday that Altieri sexually assaulted one of them in a local home while the other was forced to stay in an adjacent room.

Authorities say they found Altieri at a home in Seymour later Saturday. A woman who lives at that home was also arrested after she allegedly told police Altieri wasn't there.