diff --git a/lib/ruby-rtf/parser.rb b/lib/ruby-rtf/parser.rb
index ad5b0d5..13bb40d 100644
--- a/lib/ruby-rtf/parser.rb
+++ b/lib/ruby-rtf/parser.rb
@@ -208,7 +208,11 @@ def handle_control(name, val, src, current_pos)
                  else
                    [val].pack('U*')
                  end
-          current_section[:text] << char
+          begin
+            current_section[:text] << char
+          rescue Encoding::CompatibilityError => e
+            nil
+          end
         end
 
       when *[:rquote, :lquote] then add_modifier_section({name => true}, "'")