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SALT LAKE CITY — An 18-year-old woman was kidnapped and sexually assaulted after a stranger offered to give her a ride, police say.
Arnold Gonzales, 69, was arrested Thursday for investigation of aggravated kidnapping, object rape, two counts of forcible sexual abuse and obstruction of justice.
Gonzales told police he saw a woman "he did not know, walking near the train tracks in the Glendale area and he offered to give her a ride to help her out." But once the woman was in the car, Gonzales wouldn't let hern out, forced her to smoke what he claimed was marijuana, and inappropriately touched her, according to a police booking affidavit.
The woman "texted friends saying that she was in a stranger's vehicle and did not know where she was. The victim's family utilized the victim's phone location to track them until Salt Lake police conducted a traffic stop," according to the affidavit.
Police say the woman was held in Gonzales' car for about an hour.
"Detectives interviewed the victim and she stated that she did not know Arnold and when she walked past his vehicle, she was dizzy and did not know how, but she ended up in his car," the affidavit states. "The victim stated that Arnold stopped the vehicle and she tried to get out, but he refused to let her out of the vehicle and made her smoke more marijuana."
Gonzales allegedly showed the woman pornography on his phone and "told her that he was going to take her to his house and have sex with her," the affidavit alleges.
After being stopped by police, Gonzales was taken to the Salt Lake City Police Department for further questioning. He claimed "he did not try anything" and allegedly said he didn't let her out of his car "because of the dangerous area they were in."
At the police station, Gonzales was informed his fingers would be swabbed for DNA. While police were out of the room preparing the search warrant for the DNA, Gonzales was observed on interview room cameras licking his fingers and dipping them into his cup of water. Gonzales was also observed wiping his hands on his pants and biting his fingernails, the affidavit says.
