Fernando Gonzalez, 26, is charged with aggravated domestic battery in the March 8 attack. He appeared in a Skokie bond court on Monday.
Cook County sheriff's deputies say Gonzalez and the alleged victim got into a verbal argument and then he hit her in the head and face. She tried to escape from the apartment, but, police say, he grabbed her, choked her and dragged her back into the apartment.
After the attack, police said Gonzalez made his victim go with him to a Chicago church to meet a pastor with whom he had an appointment. Gonzalez had recently been fired from the church due to an earlier domestic battery arrest, police said. The victim told the pastor about the attack when they were alone and he called police.
The victim is now in a safe haven.
Gonzalez will appear in court next on April 18.
