A West Chester man charged with strangling and assaulting his at-home nurse will have his case proceed to county court following a preliminary hearing last week.

Judge William Mankin ruled on June 16 that the case of William Mathues, 64, will proceed to the Court of Common Pleas on charges of strangulation, simple assault and harassment.

Mathues is accused of strangling the victim at his then-residence in the first block of Mount Hope Road in East Drumore Township during the early morning hours of Jan. 29.

The victim testified that she returned home around 2 a.m. when Mathues attacked her.

“He strangled me,” the victim told the court. “He put his thumb on my throat.”

The victim had difficulty breathing and swallowing as a result of the assault and strangulation, which still causes her health problems, she told the court.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Kyle Schlitz, who filed the charges, testified that the victim’s voice was “raspy” and that she appeared “nervous and scared” when he responded to the scene.

Assistant District Attorney Shane Brackup, who represented the Commonwealth at the preliminary hearing, argued that Mathues “put his hands on a woman” and asked that all charges be bound over to the Court of Common Pleas – a request that Judge Mankin granted.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.