Apex man accused of raping, assaulting his wife twice in 3 months, warrants say
An Apex man was charged Monday with rape and stalking in connection with an alleged January assault on his wife, court records show.
Bobby Joe Ortez, 35, was originally arrested Jan. 11 and accused of assault on a female, misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, injury to personal property and communicating threats, an arrest warrant shows.
It describes the victim as a “female person” and Ortez as her spouse. The News & Observer generally does not publish the names of victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.
Ortez posted bail and was released from jail in January on the conditions that he stay away from his wife’s home and workplace and contact her only in writing about the couple’s children, court records show.
On April 21, the Wake County District Court issued a new order for Ortez’s arrest, accusing him of violating his pretrial release conditions, court records show. The arrest order describes the violation as happening within the same residence of the victim.
The same day, Ortez was charged with sexual battery, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree forcible sex offense and assault by strangulation, his warrant shows. He had gone to his wife’s home while she was there, “and a domestic violence incident occurred during the pretrial release violation as well as other crimes,” it states.
On Monday, Ortez was charged with second-degree rape and felony stalking, according to the arrest warrant.
The rape charge stems from an offense allegedly committed on Jan. 11; the stalking charge stems from an alleged March 25 offense. The warrant describes Ortez as the victim’s husband. Ortez’s wife’s statement to police suggests she had told him to stop his alleged behavior before.
As of Tuesday, Ortez was being held without bail, court records show.
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 4:11 PM.
.jpg)