Suspect in Sex Assault of Quinnipiac Student Arrested

Police arrested Marcelo Munoz-Cervantes, 29, of New Haven, after a month-long investigation.

Hamden police have arrested a suspect in the sexual assault of a Quinnipiac University student in April.

Hamden Police said the victim woke up around 4:30 a.m. on April 14 to find an intruder sexually assaulting her in her Linden Avenue residence.

Police arrested Marcelo Munoz-Cervantes, 29, of New Haven, after a month-long investigation.

Investigators said he worked as a maintenance worker for the landlord who rented the home to the sexual assault victim and was familiar with the property.

He worked for a restaurant in Southington and was arrested there, police said.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Munoz-Cervantes is accused of choking the victim when she screamed for help, punching her in the face several times, threatening to kill her and placing a sheet over her head police said.

The victim was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital for a displaced rib and injuries to her back, neck and shoulder.

The university sent a notice out to students, both on and off campus, alerting them to be aware of their surroundings and to report any suspicious activity to the the department of public safety or to Hamden Police.

According to police, Munoz-Cervantes got into the house through an unlocked fromt door.

Munoz-Cervantes was was charged with first-degree sexual assault, home invasion, burglary in the first degree, assault in the second degree and strangulation in the second degree.

He is being held on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Meriden on May 31.

Police said Munoz-Cervantes is an undocumented immigrant and Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on him.
 

Contact Us