By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — A Rockwell man was charged Friday with sexually assaulting a woman at a New Year’s Eve party.

Giovanni Alonzo Leal, 23, of the 900 block of John Miller Road, was charged with felony second-degree sex offense, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. He remains in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $10,000 secured bond.

The victim reported the assault to a sheriff’s deputy by phone. She told the deputy she had attended a party at a friend’s house. She said she knew her attacker but was not friends with him.

She said she had been drinking and went to bed about 3 or 4 a.m. About 6 a.m., she said, she awoke to find a man performing a sex act while she slept. She confronted him and he left the home. She said she went to the hospital to be examined and then called authorities.

Leal had a first appearance in court Tuesday. He is expected in court in a 2017 case in which he is charged with felony possession of methamphetamine. He also has a probation violation on his record.