A felon accused of holding a Moreno Valley woman at knifepoint and trying to sexually assault her after she met him for a date was charged Thursday with assault with intent to commit rape and other offenses.
Marque DeShone Rogers, 41, of Moreno Valley, was arrested Monday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Along with assault with intent to commit rape, Rogers was charged with assault likely to cause great bodily injury and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.
He was being held in lieu of $135,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail and was slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to sheriff’s Deputy Jomar Vanderhoof, in the predawn hours Sunday, the defendant arranged to meet the victim, whose name was not released, after the two connected via an online dating application, which wasn’t identified.
Rogers picked up the woman in his car and “drove her behind a business (near the intersection of Alessandro and Perris boulevards), held a knife to her neck and demanded that she perform sex acts on him,” Vanderhoof said.
“The victim was able to escape the suspect’s vehicle without being harmed and dialed 911,” the sheriff’s spokesman said.
Over the ensuing 24 hours, detectives gathered sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant, which was served on the defendant at his Perris Boulevard residence Monday afternoon. He was taken into custody without incident.
Court records show that Rogers has prior convictions for firearm assault and receiving stolen property.