CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LADERA RANCH

A 43-year-old man was charged Tuesday with attempting to murder an ex-girlfriend who had accused him of rape last month.

Mark Alan Jarosik and his 41-year-old accuser had lived together for several years but had broken up about a month earlier, authorities said.

He pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and was released on $100,000 bail Saturday.

Authorities say Jarosik went to the woman’s home Sunday morning and tried to break in, but fled when her children saw his hands coming through the window.

Jarosik returned Monday, attacking her outside her Ladera Ranch home, punching her and banging her head against the curb, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Authorities say neighbors pulled him away, called 911 and held him until police arrived. The woman suffered a concussion and was listed in serious condition Tuesday.

Jarosik was being held without bail.

-- Christopher Goffard