A joint investigation by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the Lawrence Township Police Department and the Trenton Police Department led to the arrest of a Ewing Township restaurant owner for allegedly sexually assaulting three former female employees and a prospective female employee.
Gerald Araya, 44, of Ewing Township, was arrested on June 19 following the complex investigation, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri, Lawrence Township Police Chief Christopher Longo and Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson.
Araya was charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault, three counts of sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual contact and one count each of kidnaping and endangering the welfare of a child, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The investigation began after a woman contacted the Trenton Police Department to report a sexual assault, which in turn launched the joint investigation with the Special Victims Unit of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
The woman told detectives that she met Araya during a job interview at Dubai Restaurant and Lounge in Trenton. He showed her other bars in Trenton that he owned, according to the prosecutor’s office.
She told police that he began making her drinks at one of the bars and insisted that she try them so she would know what she was serving. She told him that she felt ill and wanted to go home.
Her next memory was waking up in a room – later determined to be a motel in Lawrence Township – and allegedly being sexually assaulted by Araya while she was physically helpless, the prosecutor’s office said.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lawrence and Trenton police departments were able to identify three more victims who had previously worked for Araya.
A motion to detain Araya pending trial was filed by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Onofri thanked the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and its Special Victims Investigations unit; the Mercer County Tactical Response Team; Homeland Security Investigations; and the Lawrence, Ewing and Trenton police departments for their assistance.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at (609) 989-6568 or mcposvu@mercercounty.org.
