Suspect arrested in rape of man after Las Rageous festival
A California man is facing charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in connection with an attack on a drunken man Sunday morning after the Las Rageous music festival.
Lance Dreux Austin, 54, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Sunday after a man told police he was raped inside a hotel room at the Four Queens on Fremont Street.
A Las Vegas police report on Austin’s arrest said officers used surveillance footage to identify him.
The victim got separated from his girlfriend and friend at the music festival, and surveillance footage showed the victim on the ground on Fremont, surrounded by hotel security guards, just after midnight. The man was intoxicated, and the report said he had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 percent — twice the legal limit for driving — and had opiates in his system.
In the surveillance footage, the suspect is seen going to the man and helping him into the casino. The victim needed help walking, and the suspect led him into an elevator, the report said.
The victim later told police he initially thought the man worked at the hotel and was offering him a free room in which to sober up.
But the suspect forced him to undress and threatened him, the report said. The assault lasted for several minutes, and the victim passed out afterward until about 4 a.m., when he left the room and went to security.
Police found Austin a couple hours later and took him into custody. He asked for a lawyer right away and was not interrogated, the report said.
Officers executed a search warrant for the hotel room and collected several DNA samples from Austin. They found clothing in his room that matched the suspect’s outfit in the surveillance footage. Austin is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday morning.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.
