Man With Knife Caught and Charged

OCEAN CITY – A Seaford man arrested Monday now faces
first-degree rape and assault charges following his actions taken against his
ex-girlfriend earlier that day.

Ocean City Police Department officers were dispatched to
12th Street and Baltimore Avenue Monday in response to a complaint
from a woman who said she had just been sexually assaulted.

According to police reports, the victim had returned home
from work to find her ex-boyfriend, Juan Vicente Morales, 33, of Seaford, Del.,
waiting for her in her apartment. She also said he had been drinking and began
to yell and threaten her.

According to police records, Morales was carrying a rifle
and a large knife with him that he used to threaten his ex-girlfriend. He
pointed the gun at her and said he was going to have sex with her, ripping her
shirt off and placing the knife to her face, threatening to scar her.

Morales then allegedly forced the victim on to the bed and
raped her, later telling her that if she contacted the police he would return
and kill her. The victim was transported to Atlantic General Hospital while
officers conducted surveillance on her apartment in hopes Morales would return.

Around
6 p.m. on Monday evening, officers spotted Morales returning to the unit and
arrested him without any further incident. The knife was recovered from the
victim’s apartment and Morales was charged with first- and second-degree rape,
first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He is being held in
the Worcester County Jail without bond.