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Investigator details alleged rape by man accused of impersonating officer
Suspect's case in alleged January assault moves to Superior Court
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Dionicio Perez, 30, leaves Hall County Magistrate Court on Friday morning after a judge orders his case forwarded to Superior Court. Perez is charged with rape, first-degree burglary and impersonating a public officer stemming from an alleged incident Jan. 13 at the Motel 6 on Monroe Drive.

A Gainesville Police investigator told a Magistrate Court judge Friday of a rape suspect performing police-like procedures at a Gainesville motel.

Dionicio Perez, 30, of Gainesville, appeared Friday to face charges of rape, first-degree burglary and impersonating a public officer. Police believe the rape occurred Jan. 13 at the Motel 6 on Monroe Drive.

Gainesville Police Investigator Brad Raper assisted patrol officers at Northeast Georgia Medical Center regarding a woman saying she had been raped.

When Raper began to speak with the victim, she “shuddered” because Raper was not wearing a police uniform, the investigator said.

“The officer that had been working with her assured that I was, in fact, a police officer,” Raper said.

The victim told Raper she was sitting outside her Motel 6 room smoking a cigarette when a person approached her and asked if she “sold sex.”

The man represented himself as an undercover officer looking for someone, Raper said.

“He instructed her to go back into the room under the guise that he was an undercover officer,” Raper said. “He requested her ID as an officer would normally do, and once in the room, she said he conducted an extensive search.”

Perez then allegedly told the victim that the person he was looking for had a specific tattoo.

“He wanted her to pull her pants down so that he could see if she had the tattoo,” Raper said.

After the alleged sexual assault, Perez is accused of taking the woman’s paper ID before leaving the room, according to authorities.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation officer made a sketch based on the victim’s recollection that initially led to a different man as a suspect. That man since has been cleared of the charges.

Raper said he had a “nagging feeling” about the initial arrest and asked to have the collected DNA evidence expedited.

The evidence led police to charge Perez, Raper said.

When interviewed by police, Perez allegedly told Raper that he “had been utilizing the app Backpage to solicit prostitutes.”

Perez also told police that the sex was consensual and that he did not present himself to be a police officer.

Defense attorney Larry Duttweiler asked about the discrepancies between the initial suspect and Perez, including why the first suspect was never charged with burglary or impersonating a public officer.

Raper responded by saying that he wanted to wait for the DNA evidence before bringing more warrants.

The case moved on to Superior Court.