Hammond man accused of stalking, raping womanPost-Tribune staff report September 21, 2011 5:16PM
Rape and stalking charges have been filed in Lake Superior Court against a Hammond man.
Miguel Torres Arreola, 39, of the 4600 block of Towle Avenue, is charged with sexually assaulting a woman in April and May at her home.
The woman told police she had met Arreola through a friend around July 2010, and he invited her to escort him to various functions as a friend. With her husband’s permission, she went to functions with Arreola. After one such event, however, he made his feelings known and said he wanted to have sex with her, but she refused.
Sometime in April, Arreola knocked on the door of her home, pushed his way inside, again expressed his interest in having sex with her, and said he could harm her spouse and other family. The woman told police she “let him take it from her†without resisting because she was afraid of him and feared he would have her deported, the probable cause affidavit states. The woman said Arreola had sex with her in May against her will.
In mid-June, Arreola forced his way into the home, took her to a bedroom, demanded sex and began calling her names, then left.
The woman said she and her family have moved to avoid Arreola, who continues to call her cell phone and hide in the neighborhood, where she has seen him watching her and her family.
Arreola has a pending stalking case filed in September 2010 for which he has never been arrested.
The new charges are punishable by a maximum 20-year sentence.