Houston Police Announce Arrest Of Suspected Serial Rapist

HOUSTON, TX — A man who investigators said used online dating apps and social media to sexually assault as many as eight women in the Houston area has been arrested. Jorge Arturo Mar, 24, is expected to be formally charged with at least one count of aggravated sexual assault and one count of aggravated robbery by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

David Angelo, who is in charge of the Houston Police Special Victim’s Unit, announced Mar’s arrest during a press conference at HPD Headquarters on Thursday afternoon.

Mar, who it seems was an online Romeo who used several different online dating sites, was arrested on Wednesday for incidents that were reported in 2017. Investigators who were working on several sexual assault cases received DNA evidence that linked Mar to at least three sexual assault victims, Angelo said.

“Upon receiving this information, we realized we had a serial rapist on our hands,” Angelo said. “We believe he is responsible for at least eight sexual assaults, beginning in April 2017 to August 2018.”
Six of those cases were filed with the Houston Police, while others were filed with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

However, the number could be higher. Angelo added that there is a gap between August 2017 to May 2018 where there were no reports involving Mar received, leading investigators to believe there could be some victims that have not come forward.

“Who knows how many women he was talking to on social media,” said Lt. Jacinda Gunter, who leads the adult sex crimes division for SVU.

Gunter said Mar met all his victims through online several online dating apps or social media sites, using his own photos and a variation of his first name, which made it easier to identify him.

“He didn’t use just one. He had a favorite app that he used,” she said. “There was one he used more than others.”

Gunter said she didn’t want to disclose which social media app Mar used, or release his photo until he is positively identified by his victims.

Gunter said Mar would lure the victims to his car, drove them to a remote area where he sexually assaulted them in his car and robbed them with either a gun or some other type of weapon.

“When you meet someone on social media, you really don’t know who you’re talking to. You’re relying on what they are telling you,” she said. “It’s definitely a bad idea to meet someone you've just met online in a private place.”

Gunter encouraged any woman who meets someone online or met someone new to always be cautious, and if they are sexually assaulted to go to the nearest hospital and have a sexual assault exam completed, free of charge.

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