An man in the country illegally, charged with the assault of a woman in October on the Prairie Spirit Trail, will be arraigned tomorrow, February 12th, in Anderson County District Court, with the aid of an interpreter.
Porfirio Dela Cruz-Cantu faces charges of battery, criminal restraint and mistreatment of an elderly person stemming from his alleged violent attack against a 64 year-old Ottawa woman who was bicycling on the trail October 10th of last year. The woman told police she managed to escape the attack by sliding down the trail’s embankment and running to a nearby home for help. She says Cantu clotheslined her from her bike as she passed him and she believed was attempting to sexually assault her, at one point stuffing her mouth with leaves and grass in an attempt to stifle her screams for help. Cruz-Cantu is currently being held in the Anderson County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond. Court records showed an interpreter had been secured for Cruz-Cantu’s arraignment. He and his wife worked at a Garnett restaurant on North Maple Street.
