Three more women file complaints against accused rapist

Feb. 17—Three additional women have filed complaints naming Akin Warner, a Windsor man who's accused in four cases of raping women he met on social media, according to Windsor Locks Police Lt. Paul Cherniack.

None of the new complaints were filed with Windsor Locks police, Cherniack said, and he would not reveal where they were filed, citing ongoing investigations.

"Departments will have to vet each complaint," Cherniack said.

Windsor Locks police were the first to arrest Warner, on Jan. 28, and other police agencies noted similarities in attacks they were investigating.

Warner, 25, of 68 Cobblestone Way, was charged on Feb. 3 by state police in connection with two sexual assault cases in Ellington. He also is charged with a sexual assault in Windsor, and is a suspect in attacks in Orange County, California, where he formerly lived, police said.

In the Ellington cases, state police charged Warner with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, three counts of second-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to a minor, and one count of giving liquor to a minor.

Warner is also facing a charge of first-degree sexual assault in both Windsor and in Windsor Locks.

In the Windsor Locks case, Warner is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl he met on SnapChat. The girl told police Warner lied about his age, saying he was 16. They agreed to meet, and he gave her liquor, which made her feel groggy, she told police.

Police obtained a license plate number from surveillance video in the parking lot where they met, leading them to Warner, according to an affidavit supporting his arrest.

The affidavits supporting Warner's arrests by state police in the Ellington cases say Warner also contacted those girls through social media, lied about his age, and then assaulted them when they met in person, the Journal Inquirer reported.

One of the girls said she first began talking with Warner on the social media platform Yubo at the end of November, the affidavit says.

The two eventually met one evening at the Crystal Lake boat launch in Ellington.

The girl alleges that Warner sexually assaulted her in the back seat of his car after giving her vodka. She said she had trouble remembering exactly what happened because she wasn't conscious the whole time.

Afterward, Warner used the girl's Snapchat account to send out a message looking for another sexual encounter.

The second girl saw that message from Warner, and then received a message from him directly. On Nov. 29, Warner picked her up from her home and drove to a spot near Crystal Lake and sexually assaulted her in his car, the girl told authorities, and the same thing happened on a second occasion, she said.

According to state police, both girls suffer from mental health disorders. In addition, the second girl has Autism Spectrum Disorder, causing her to have trouble with complex social situations and to be easily manipulated.

The same day that Windsor Locks police charged Warner, they learned about another sexual assault in Windsor.

The victim in that case reported meeting Warner on Snapchat, and being sexually assaulted at his Windsor home after he gave her a cup of vodka mixed with iced tea, police said. She said the drink affected her mental state much more than that amount of alcohol normally would, police said.

Windsor Locks police initially asked other potential victims to contact them, but now say they should contact their town's police department.

Warner is due to appear in Hartford and Vernor superior courts on March 5, according to online Judicial Department records.

He is being held at Hartford Correctional Center.

For updates on East Windsor, Windsor, and Windsor Locks, follow Joe Chaisson on Twitter: @TheJoeyChaisson, Facebook: Joe Chaisson, and Instagram: @JIJoeChaisson.