Editor's note: This article was updated at 9:45 a.m., May 5.

The Newark Police Department has announced the arrest of a suspect in the armed sexual assault that occured in the early morning of Saturday, May 4.

Around 1:15 a.m., May 4, a 21-year-old woman was walking on South Chapel Street in the area of East Delaware Avenue when a man driving a pick-up truck identified himself as a driver for a ride share services and offered her a ride home. She had not called for a ride. After the victim got into the truck, the driver took her to an undetermined area where he told her to perform a sexual act with him, while displaying a knife. She was later able to exit the vehicle and called 911 from a nearby residence. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

After police released photos of the suspect's vehicle on Saturday morning, they received various tips, and detectives pursued those leads.

Detectives located the vehicle parked at a residence on Nottingham Road in Newark and began to conduct surveillance. They determined that the registered owner matched the description of the suspect. When the suspect left the residence, he was stopped by officers and found to have a knife in his possession. During the investigation, they developed further probable cause to arrest the suspect.

Roberto Rodriguez, 41, of Newark was taken to Newark Police headquarters, where he was charged with first degree rape, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, third degree unlawful sexual contact, theft uner $1,500 and malicious interference with emergency communications. The theft and malicious interference charges are the result of the suspect taking the victim's phone to prevent her from calling police.

Rodriguez appeared before Justice of the Peace Court #11 in New Castle, where he was ordered to be held on $6,000 cash bail. He was taken to the Howard R. Young Correctional Facility in Wilmington.

Resources

UD Police remind the campus community to be vigilant. If you see something, say something. Call 911 to report suspicious activity. Go to the UD Police website for more safety tips.

For members of the UD community who experience sexual assault, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence or stalking, the University’s Sexual Offense Support (S.O.S.) program provides crisis support  and victim advocacy and is available 24/7 by calling 302-831-1001 and pressing 1 or online at www.udel.edu/sos. Learn more about survivor options and resources at www.udel.edu/sexualmisconduct.

Members of the UD community may download a free smartphone app, LiveSafe, that lets users submit tips to police, receive important broadcast notifications and contact the University of Delaware Police Department directly. To learn more, visit this UD Police website.

Visit this website to subscribe for a UD Crime Alert email whenever an article about a police investigation is posted on UDaily.