The 29-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a woman on a running trail in Avon last week is back in Connecticut after he was arrested Monday in Massachusetts.
Luis Ortiz-Morales was arrested in Chicopee, Massachusetts, on Monday after showing up at the police station to ask why officers were at his house, according to police.
Avon police traveled to Chicopee and brought Ortiz-Morales back to Connecticut on Tuesday. Ortiz-Morales faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault.
He's accused of grabbing a woman, dragging her off the Rails to Trails path – also known as the Farmington Canal Trail – and sexually assaulting her the afternoon of Thursday, June 25. Police said DNA evidence linked him to the crime.
Ortiz-Morales was working on the trail for United Sites Services, a portable toilet company, the day of the attack, according to Avon Town Manager Brandon Robertson.
A representative for United Sites Services said Ortiz-Morales' "termination from the company is in process."
The company responded to the allegations against with the following statement Monday night:
"First and foremost, our thoughts are with the victim of this violent crime. Like the rest of the community, we are appalled by this reprehensible act and we have been actively assisting local authorities with their investigation and will continue to assist them in any way we can."
Ortiz-Morales will go before a judge Wednesday.
