File photo: After a Texas woman met a man on the dating and networking app Bumble and started up a relationship with him, the pair agreed to meet for what she thought was a date at his apartment. Picture: PxHere
By Praveena Somasundaram
AFTER a Texas woman met a man on the dating and networking app Bumble and started up a relationship with him, the pair agreed to meet for what she thought was a date at his apartment.
The woman's date, 21-year-old Zachary Kent Mills, drove her to his place in Spring, Texas, on Christmas Eve, according to a court document.
Once they got there, Mills tried to have sex with her, but she denied the advances, the document says.
The woman said she was forced to stay at the apartment for five days before she escaped.
Authorities in Harris County, Texas, arrested Mills on December 30, charging him with first-degree aggravated kidnapping, Constable Mark Herman announced on social media.
Zachary Kent Mills, 21, of Spring, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated kidnapping, she was being held captive. Harris County Jail, where he posted a $50,000 bond.🤬 I Just got off phone with jail need DOB. Want to know why he is not there, trial I am sure. pic.twitter.com/OK009YKmxC
— Sumner (@renmusb1) January 5, 2023
Mills's attorney, Chris Denuna, told The Washington Post that his client pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. Denuna called the allegations "egregious."
"These are allegations," he added. "Our constitution affords everybody due process, which means he's presumed innocent."
Bumble did not respond to a request from The Post but said in a statement to KPRC it was "shocked and saddened" to hear about the incident.
"We blocked this member as soon as we were made aware of this situation and in accordance with our Community Guidelines," the company said. "We also have a dedicated law enforcement team available to respond to any requests from law enforcement as needed."
From December 24 to December 29, the woman, whom officials have not identified, was not given any food or water, according to the charging document in the case.
Over the course of the first five days, she tried to escape. But she was unable to leave the apartment and was repeatedly physically and sexually assaulted, the document alleges.
On December 29, Mills left to visit his father's house, according to the document. The woman then gathered her clothes and ran, finding help from a neighbour in the apartment complex, the document states.
That same day, deputies from the Harris County Constable Precinct 4 went to the apartment complex after receiving a call and started investigating the incident.
The woman had "serious bodily injury," according to the constable's office. After deputies arrived, she was taken to a hospital for treatment.
On December 30, deputies executed a warrant to search Mills's apartment. They arrested him that day.
Mills has since been released on a $50,000 (about R850,000) bond with conditions including wearing a GPS monitor, remaining under 24-hour house arrest and refraining from being within 200 feet of the woman's residence, workplace or school, according to court filings.
Denuna said prosecutors had asked for a $100,000 bond and Mills's previous defence attorney argued for $20,000. The judge settled on an amount in between, Denuna said, taking into account that Mills has "no criminal history, especially no history of violence."