According to police, the owner of three restaurants in New Jersey sexually harassed four women, including a job applicant

A Mercer County restaurant owner has been charged with sexually assaulting at least four women, including a job applicant who he gave drinks to until she passed out, and three former employees, authorities said Thursday.

Gerald Araya, 44, of Ewing, was arrested Wednesday at Mill Hill Restaurant & Lounge, one of three restaurants he owns in Trenton, the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday. Araya also owns El Catador Lounge Restaurant and Dubai Restaurant & Lounge. An attorney for Araya could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The investigation began after a woman told police she went to the Dubai restaurant for a job interview with Araya last month and he persuaded her to go with him to another of his restaurants in Trenton, “where Araya began mixing drinks for the victim and insisting that she taste them so she would know what she was serving to customers.”

The woman told police she began to feel ill and told Araya she wanted to go home, authorities said. Her next memory was waking up naked in a Lawrence Township motel room and being sexually assaulted by Araya, authorities said.

The investigation led to three other women, all former employees, accusing Araya of sexual assault, authorities said. The date and circumstances of these incidents were not disclosed by prosecutors on Thursday.

Araya is charged with five counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

The public prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that it wanted Araya to remain in custody until the trial.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the District Attorney’s Office at 609-989-6568 or [email protected].

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Eric Conklin can be reached at [email protected].