FAYETTEVILLE -- A Rogers man has been arrested in connection with rape and attempted sexual assault after he attacked two people he had offered rides, police said.
Abhey Mendoza-Anaya, 37, was arrested Wednesday after police investigated two reports of sexual assault. The first incident, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, was reported to police April 6. The person making the report said a man approached them after leaving a Fayetteville nightclub and offered a ride. The person said the driver of the car tried to force them to commit a sex act in the car but they were able to get out of the vehicle.
In the second incident reported May 5, the person making the report said they were waiting for a car from a ride-sharing service and got into a car they believed was the one sent to pick them up. The person making the report said they passed out during the trip and woke to find the driver attempting to commit a sex act. The person making the report said they pushed the driver away and the man drove them to a home where they got out of the vehicle.
Police said evidence from a video surveillance tape showed the vehicle involved in the second incident, and an officer identified the driver as Mendoza-Anaya. Mendoza-Anaya reportedly admitted giving rides to both people but said the sex acts were consensual.
Mendoza-Anaya is being held in the Washington County Detention Center with bond set at $250,000.
NW News on 06/06/2019