A Little Ferry man who authorities said raped a woman at a local hotel after drugging and holding her captive for several hours smiled for his mugshot when he was booked into the Bergen County Jail.
Amaurie Hernandez, 36, slipped the victim a date rape drug during a rendezvous after previously meeting met her online, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Tuesday.
She told borough police that she showed up for the meeting at the Capri Inn just off Route 46 and ended up ingesting “surreptitiously provided” drugs that rendered her incoherent, Musella said.
She eventually awoke, realized what had happened and tried to leave, “but Hernandez physically threatened her,” the prosecutor said. “Ultimately, she was able to escape after approximately 20 hours."
The transgender victim ran from the motel and climbed a fence to get away, witnesses said.
Little Ferry police immediately contacted Musella’s Special Victims Unit, the prosecutor said.
His detectives on Tuesday arrested Hernandez and charged him with aggravated sexual assault, criminal restraint and possession of cocaine and of GHB.
He remained held in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates.
