LEWISBURG — An indecent assault on a hotel worker in East Buffalo Township on Saturday led to the arrest of at least one illegal immigrant, as well as 11 other people suspected of being in the country illegally, police said.
Sergio Gonzalez-Salinas, 37, of Mexico, was arrested Monday at the strip mall containing Staples, West Coast Video and other shops and restaurants, on Route 15 in Kelly Township, where he was working for a roofing contractor.
Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were called and took Gonzalez-Salinas’ co-workers into custody for further investigation, said East Buffalo Township Police Cpl. Malcolm Herman.
Gonzalez-Salinas is accused of stalking, inappropriately touching and making lewd gestures to a woman who cleans rooms at the nearby Rodeway Inn on Route 15.
Through tears, the woman, whom police did not identify, recounted her story for Herman, who figured out the man was at the work site in Kelly Township, according to documents on file at District Judge Leo Armbruster’s office.
According to a permit for the roofing project on file at the Keystone Council of Governments, the company performing the roofing work is North American Roofing Services of 41 Dogwood Road, Asheville, N.C.
The permit lists a phone number, and a Julie Pratt as the project administrator for the company.
The phone was hung up twice when a reporter identified himself and asked to speak with Pratt.
The strip mall is owned by Weis Markets. A spokesman for Weis said the company was unaware that there were suspected illegal immigrants in the work crew.
“Each year, we do business with thousands of companies,” said Dennis Curtin, Weis director of public relations. “Whenever we contract with one, we include a provision that they must be in full compliance with pertinent federal, state and local laws.”
ICE took 11 foreign nationals into custody and subsequently released two, spokesman Harold Ort said. Because the individuals were identified as part of a separate police investigation and not a work site enforcement case, the agency typically does not go into issues of responsibility.
Herman, with East Buffalo police, said Gonzalez-Salinas would be turned over to ICE after the charges against him were resolved. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28 at Armbruster’s office in Lewisburg.
Gonzalez-Salinas first talked to the woman on Friday when she was picking up towels in his room. He allegedly asked her if she was married, court documents state.
Later that day, Gonzalez-Salinas entered another room she was cleaning and tried to kiss her hand, court documents state. She told him to leave.
The next day about 12:40 p.m., the woman saw Gonzalez-Salinas arrive in the parking lot as she was cleaning another room. Though she ducked into a room to avoid him, he entered the room. There, he spoke to her in broken English, saying she “looked more beautiful than yesterday.”
After a few minutes of her ignoring him, Gonzalez-Salinas walked away. While she was cleaning the bathroom of one of the rooms, Gonzalez-Salinas allegedly burst in behind her, grabbed her and pulled her into him and began kissing her neck, court documents state. He also allegedly touched her in private areas.
Gonzalez-Salinas allegedly asked the woman to come to his room later that night to have sex, and he made a lewd gesture toward her, court documents state. She eventually told him she would see him tomorrow, and Gonzalez-Salinas left, she told police.
It was then she notified her employer and contacted police. Gonzalez-Salinas was not in his room at the time, and through investigation, Herman determined he was working Monday at the Kelly Township job site.
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Related Photos
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The shopping center along Route 15 in Kelly Township where authorities caught 11 illegal immigrants working on the roof on Monday. Matthew Harris/The Daily Item
Discussion
Suspected illegal immigrants taken into custody
One charged with indecent assault
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