A 32-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman he kidnapped as she left a club in Fullerton had his arraignment continued Friday.
Nelson Mauricio Lunaty Garcia of Chino Hills was arrested Wednesday night after the victim’s friends went to the same nightclub and saw his vehicle, said Fullerton police Sgt. Kathryn Hamel.
On the night of Sept. 2, the victim was leaving the In Cahoots nightclub in the 1400 block of South Lemon Street when she was approached by a man “who she thought was a police officer or security guard,” Hamel said.
“Thinking she was being ‘arrested,’ the victim was bound by the male suspect and placed into the back of what she believed to be an undercover police car,” the sergeant said.
The suspect drove around the city before stopping in the Skyline area, where he stopped and told the woman she would be released if she cooperated with him, Hamel said.
“The victim was then forcibly sexually assaulted by the suspect,” Hamel said.
The woman was then taken back to the In Cahoots parking lot and released, Hamel said.
She did not report the attack to police, but she did tell her friends, who returned to the club Wednesday and spotted a car matching the one described by the victim, Hamel said.
Police were then called and following an investigation they arrested Garcia on suspicion of kidnapping and sexual assault, according to Hamel, who said a loaded firearm was recovered during a search of Garcia’s car.
Garcia has been charged with one count each of kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object and force and sodomy by force.
If convicted, Garcia faces a maximum of 31 years to life in state prison. His arraignment today was continued to Oct. 2 in Santa Ana, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
“Based on our investigation, we believe there may potentially be additional victims,” Hamel said.
Anyone with information about Garcia or the Sept. 3 attack is urged to call the Fullerton police detective handling the investigation at (714) 738- 6753. Anonymous tips can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP- OCCS.
— City News Service