Porta-Potty Worker Charged in Sexual Assault of Woman on Avon Trail

The 29-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a woman on a running trail in Avon last week was working there for a portable toilet company the day of the attack, according to Avon town manager.

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.

He's accused of grabbing the victim, 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.

Avon Town Manager Brandon Robertson said Ortiz-Morales was working on the trail that day for United Sites Services, a portable toilet rental company based in Stamford and contracted by the town of Avon.

DNA evidence linked Ortiz-Morales to the crime, according to police.

He was taken into custody as a fugitive from justice after walking into the Chicopee police station early Monday afternoon to ask why investigators where at his house, police said.

"There was no incident; he was just curious as to why the police where there," explained Michael Wilk, of the Chicopee Police Department. "I was told during booking, though, he became very nervous."

Ortiz-Morales will be extradited and charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault. His bond has been set at $2 million.

"That's big. None of us want to see that happen," Wilk said. "We all have moms; we all have wives, girlfriends, daughters. That's a horrible crime to us, and when we do something like this, we do pay a little more attention to it."

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."

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