A Mercer County restauranteur has been charged with sexually assaulting at least four women, including a job applicant he plied with drinks until she passed out and three former employees, authorities said Thursday.
Gerald Araya, 44, of Ewing, was arrested Wednesday at the Mill Hill Restaurant & Lounge, one of the three restaurants he owns in Trenton, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday. Araya also owns the El Catador Lounge Restaurant and Dubai Restaurant & Lounge. An attorney for Araya was not available on Thursday for comment.
The investigation began after a woman told police that she went last month to Dubai Restaurant for a job interview with Araya and he convinced her go with him to another of his Trenton restaurants, “where Araya began making the victim drinks and insisting she try them so she knew what she was serving patrons.”
The woman told police she began to feel ill and informed Araya that she wanted to go home, authorities said. Her next memory was waking up naked in a Lawrence Township motel room and being sexually assaulted by Araya, authorities said.
That room was the Mounts Motel on Brunswick Pike, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Investigators found security video of the pair there around the time the alleged assault happened, the affidavit states.
The investigation led to three other women, all former employees, who accused Araya of sexual assault, authorities said. The dates and circumstances of those incidents were not disclosed Thursday by the prosecutors office.
One of the women was 17 at the time she was assaulted in November 2021, the affidavit states.
Araya is facing five counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault along with charges of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors on Thursday said they intend to seek for Araya to be held pending trial.
Araya bought the restaurants over five years, according to business records. El Catador was his first in 2019, followed by Dubai in 2021 and Mine Hill in 2022.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the prosecutor’s office at 609-989-6568 or mcposvu@mercercounty.org.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
