Manassas man’s failed attempt at sex led to abduction attempt, police say

MANASSAS — City police Thursday arrested a 24-year-old Manassas man they claim tried to solicit sex from two teen-age girls and then tried to abduct one of them when she declined.

Hector Andres Joya-Rodriguez, of 9990 Confederate Trail, offered a 13-year-old girl money for sex and then tried to drag her into his car Wednesday afternoon, said Sgt. Marc J. Woolverton, a spokesman for Manassas police, on Friday.

At 5:50 p.m. Wednesday, Joya-Rodriguez approached the victim and her 16-year-old male friend in the area of Confederate and McClellan Commons and began talking with them, Woolverton said. When the teens walked away, he got into his car and followed them as they walked, calling for the girl and offering her money.

He then got out of his car, approached the girl, displayed some cash and grabbed her; Joya-Rodriguez only released her when the boy struck him in the head, Woolverton said. The pair then ran off, but not before catching Joya-Rodriguez’s license plate number.

The 13-year-old girl later told a family member, who notified police, Woolverton said. In the course of the investigation, city police Detective Tina Pannell also learned that Joya-Rodriguez approached a 17-year-old girl the same way Thursday afternoon near the intersection of Confederate Trail and McRae Court, Woolverton said; she refused his advances and ran home.

Police charged Joya-Rodriguez with abduction with the intent to defile and solicitation for prostitution, and has been held without bail. As of Friday afternoon, a court date had not yet been set, Woolverton added.

Joya-Rodriguez is also a suspect in the repeated sexual assault of a 19-year-old Manassas woman, police said.

Around 6 p.m. last Sunday, a man described as Hispanic, in his mid 20s, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with very short black hair approached the victim from behind as she walked along a path between Main Street and Grant Avenue, Woolverton said.

The attacker grabbed her, threw her to the ground and forced his hands down her pants. She was able to fight him off and ran toward Main Street.

The victim, who did not report the first incident to police, was assaulted the same way the next day in the 9600 block of Aspen Place. After the incident, she called police.

“We believe the man was directly targeting this woman as she was walking in the neighborhood,” Woolverton said. “To our knowledge, he was a complete stranger.

“We’re not going to discount the possibility that [all of these attackers] were committed by the same person,” Woolverton continued. “We have no direct information to link the suspect to both crimes, but in all instances, they have the same basic description. The investigation is definitely continuing.”

Police ask that anyone with information on the two unsolved sexual assaults call Crime Solvers at (703) 330-0330. Callers do not have to give their names or testify in court and may receive a reward of up to $1,000 for information that results in an arrest.