Council Bluffs Police have identified and arrested a man who is suspected of sexually assaulting former Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) during a run along the Missouri River on the border of Nebraska and Iowa.
Sgt. Ted Roberts said the “suspect was arrested early this morning across the river by the police department.” He added the warrant was signed late Thursday evening and police were able to locate the suspect Friday morning.
Police released surveillance camera images that the department identified as 25-year-old Dominic Henton of Papillion, Neb., first reported by WOWT 6 News.
The former Arizona Senator said she was on a run on Wednesday when she was sexually assaulted. In an Instagram video, McSally said she is safe and OK.
“A man came up behind me, and he engulfed me in a bear hug, and he molested and fondled me until I fought him off,” she said. “I then chased him down. I said a lot of swear words.”
She said was in “fight, flight or freeze” mode and chose to fight, chasing after him and throwing her water bottle at him.
McSally, who has been open about her previous experience of being sexually assaulted by a superior in the Air Force, said she still has a lot to process about Wednesday’s attack.
“I know it’s tapped into a nerve of other sexual abuse and assault that I’ve been through in the past, which I’ve healed from as much as I feel can be done,” she said. “But in this case, I felt like I took my power back.”
“He tried to take power from me, but I turned it on him, and he was running from me, instead of the other way around,” McSally said.
Police charged Henton with one count of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. CBPD said he is “believed to be transient” and may “frequent the area on the Riverfront on both the Iowa and Nebraska sides.”
Roberts said police took Henton to Douglas County corrections in Omaha and “he will be awaiting extradition back over here across the river.” He said with Friday being a federal holiday, he isn’t sure when that will be, but expects it “probably won’t happen until Monday.”
McSally served in both the House and the Senate, replacing the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). She speaks publicly on “how to overcome fear.” The former Senator was speaking in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday “about courage and heart.”
This story was updated at 2:47pm Nov. 10.