A 33-year-old man is facing multiple charges after deputies say he forced a woman to have sex with him at a rest stop along Interstate 75 in southeastern Collier County, according to sheriff’s reports.Alfonso Joseph Cruz of Fort Myers was arrested and charged with sexual battery, kidnapping-false imprisonment, resisting arrest and battery.
Arrest reports gave this account:
A CCSO deputy on routine patrol spotted a 1996 Toyota passenger car parked in the Big Cypress Wildlife Access Area near the 71 mile marker of I-75 around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday. Cruz was on top of the woman in the front passenger seat.
The deputy activated the lights and sirens on his patrol vehicle. The woman ran out of the Avalon toward the deputy.
The woman told deputies that she met up with Cruz, whom she knows, at Edison Mall in Fort Myers. They began arguing.
The woman said she feared for her safety and got inside her car, followed by Cruz. Cruz got behind the wheel and drove onto I-75.
The woman, who CCSO isn’t identifying due to the sexual nature of the charges, told deputies that Cruz drove to the rest area, where he forced her to have sex with him.
Deputies said the woman’s left eye was bruised. The woman told deputies that Cruz struck her, but she couldn’t recall if it was with an open or closed hand, reports said.
Further investigation by deputies revealed Cruz was on state probation when they arrested him. Under the terms of his probation, Cruz is prohibited from leaving his residence after 5 p.m. He was additionally charged with violating his probation.
