NJ restaurateur charged with sexually abusing job seeker and others – NBC10 Philadelphia

The New Jersey restaurant owner is accused of drugging and sexually abusing an applicant for a job at one of his restaurants and at least three other employees.

In May 2024, a woman reported to Trenton Police that she had been sexually assaulted by Gerald Araya, 44, of Ewing, New Jersey. Araya owns the El Catador Lounge Restaurant, Dubai Restaurant & Lounge, and Mill Hill Restaurant & Lounge in Trenton.

The woman told investigators she met Araya at an interview for a job at the Dubai restaurant. Araya wanted to show the woman his other restaurants and the two left, investigators said.

When they arrived at another bar, Araya began mixing drinks for the woman and insisted that she taste them so she would know what to serve customers, officials said.

The woman told police she felt sick and told Araya she wanted to go home. Police said the woman then fell unconscious. Araya then sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious at a motel in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, investigators said. The woman told police she woke up naked in a room.

Investigators also said they identified three other victims Araya sexually abused. All three had previously worked for him, officials said.

Araya was arrested in Trenton on Wednesday, June 19. He is charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child and other related offenses. The Mercer County District Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to detain Araya pending trial.

While Araya is in custody, the investigation continues. Anyone with information about him is asked to contact the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 609-989-6568 or email [email protected].

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.