DNA Linked Suspect to Avon Running Trail Sex Assault Case: Cops

The 29-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a woman on a running trail in Avon was linked to the crime after police found his DNA under the victim's fingernails, according to the warrant for his arrest.

Luis Ortiz-Morales was arrested in Chicopee, Massachusetts, last month. Authorities said he showed up at the police station to ask why investigators were at his house.

Police said Ortiz-Morales, who was driving a portable toilet pump truck for United Site Services, grabbed a jogger from behind and dragged her into the bushes around noon June 25 on the Rails to Trails path near Scoville Road in Avon.

He hit the woman in the mouth and on the head, then put his hand down her pants, according to police. The woman fought back and ended up with Ortiz-Morales's DNA under her fingernails.

Ortiz-Morales denied sexually assaulting the woman when police confronted him, according to the arrest warrant.

He was charged with first-degree sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping.

Police said he was previously arrested three times in Massachusetts: twice for drug possession in 2005 and once in 2010 on motor vehicle charges.

He was also accused of sexually assaulting his ex-wife's 4-year-old child in Holyoke, Massachusetts, but was never arrested because the child's allegations were not specific and police couldn't find any evidence, according to police.

When NBC Connecticut reached out to United Sites Services for comment last month, a representative for the company said Ortiz-Morales' "termination from the company is in process."

"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," the company said in a statement in July.

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