Police – NBC 6 South Florida
A man accused of violently sexually assaulting a woman in Miami earlier this month has been identified and arrested, officials said.
Clarens Braynen, 20, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual battery and kidnapping, an arrest report said.
Police believe Braynen is responsible for the sexual assault that happened in the early morning hours of May 5.
According to police, the victim was walking along Biscayne Boulevard near Northeast 32nd Street after getting off a Miami-Dade Transit bus at the Omni Station when she was suddenly approached from behind by a man who covered her mouth with a cloth and dragged her into an empty lot.
The victim said she was dragged to an area with a tarp under some trees, where she was sexually assaulted by the man.
He covered her mouth with a cloth to prevent her from yelling for help, but she fought back and even bit his hand, police said.
The victim was eventually able to escape and found police.
Officials said she had injuries to the left side of her jaw and cuts on her lips from the frightening encounter.
Surveillance video released by police last week showed the man in the clothing he wore during the incident and then in a change of clothes immediately after the incident so he could elude police, officials said.
“We believe that he was looking around, he was hunting for someone. It’s very possible he might have done something similar before or attempted something similar before,” Miami Police spokesman Michael Vega said last week.
The arrest report said Braynen is homeless and a citizen of Haiti.
Braynen was booked into jail, where he was being held without bond Thursday, records showed. Attorney information wasn’t available.
