La Crosse man arrested after attack on trail could be tried for kidnapping, but not attempted sexual assault

A trial on a kidnapping charge may be scheduled in the case of a man accused of trying to drag a woman away from a La Crosse city trail in late March.

Judge Ramona Gonzalez found probable cause to to support the kidnapping count against Joseph Grzegorek.

In court Thursday, the judge did not, however, find cause to back a charge of attempted sexual assault, following the victim’s claim that Grzegorek grabbed her and she thought he might harm her.

Grzegorek reportedly fled the scene when the woman called for help.

“The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to act as the gateway, basically,” Gonzalez told the court, “and the state has to meet that minimal burden. And just because one would assume that that’s what he was doing does not rise to the level of probable cause. You have to have something else.”

Grzegorek claims he accidentally collided with the woman on a trail near Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, but denied that he attempted to hurt her.