Man Charged With Sexual Assault Of Intellectually Disabled Woman He Met Gaming

A Florida man was arrested last week on accusations of sexually assaulting an intellectually disabled woman he met through an online mobile game, Fort Lauderdale police said.

Miguel Sales Mendez, 22, was arrested on charges of sexual battery of a helpless victim on Thursday in the alleged sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman. The woman had been diagnosed with having the mental capacity of a 12-year-old child, according to an arrest warrant obtained by HuffPost.

According to the warrant, Sales Mendez and the victim met in June 2023 while playing “Free Fighter,” an online mobile game, and exchanged phone numbers over the game’s chat feature.

The two communicated with each other over WhatsApp for months until September, when they decided to meet up in person, according to the warrant.

On Sep. 9, Sales Mendez arrived in front of the victim’s family home and allegedly sent her a message saying he was going to take her to a “magical place,” according to the document.

Police said the victim was scared to go with Sales Mendez, but he sent another message threatening her, stating that he was going to come into her home by force.

The victim then snuck out of her home and entered Sales Mendez’s car, and he drove her to a parking lot, police said.

Sales Mendez allegedly forced the victim out of his car and told her to go behind the building before asking her to turn off her cell phone, according to the warrant.

Police said Sales Mendez sexually assaulted the victim before fleeing the scene.

The victim called police as soon as Sales Mendez left the area and shewas taken to a sexual assault treatment center, where medical examiners found several sexual assault related injuries, according to the document.

According to the document,