LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A registered sex offender was apprehended after sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in east Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced in a press conference on Thursday.
42-year-old Willie Collins was identified as the suspect through an ankle monitor from the Clark County Detention Center, said LVMPD Lt. Jason Johansson.
The assault happened early Thursday morning, at approximately 6:20 a.m. in the 4200 block of Tonopah Avenue (near Lake Mead Boulevard and Lamb Boulevard).
Police were told a man approached the boy as he was walking down the street and insinuated that he had a weapon and would kill the boy if he did not comply. He then directed the boy into an alley on the north side of Tonopah Avenue and into a dumpster enclosure, and sexually assaulted him.
During the assault, Johansson said the boy and suspect were "involved in a fight" and the boy was able to escape and run to a nearby witness. The suspect was seen fleeing westbound on Tonopah Avenue.
Sex crimes detectives were called in and LVMPD initiated its major case protocol, which Johansson said directs the department to organize and mobilize resources throughout the Las Vegas valley toward a single investigative goal — in this case, locating the suspect.
Officers canvassed the area and were able to obtain multiple videos that showed the suspect with his pants down. That brought their attention to the ankle monitor, which Johansson said was consistent with one that a person on house arrest from CCDC would wear.
They determined the ankle bracelet assigned to Collins had been in the area at the time of the assault, and detectives were able to definitively identify Collins as the suspect.
Approximately six hours after the attack, Collins was apprehended at his residence approximately a quarter-mile away from where the boy was assaulted, Johansson said. He didn't have any weapons in his possession when police arrested him, despite insinuating that he had a weapon when he confronted the boy.
He was arrested on suspicion of battery with the intent to commit sexual assault, sexually motivated kidnapping, and two counts of sexual assault of a victim under the age of 16.
Collins was on house arrest for a prior incident in North Las Vegas where he is accused of robbery with a deadly weapon. He is a registered sex offender with a prior conviction of open and gross lewdness, Johansson said.
"In this case, I would say the victim sustained quite a bit of injuries, in regards to not only physical but obviously emotional injuries that come from a traumatic experience like this," Johansson said.
Police were not immediately aware of any other reports that would tie Collins to other sexual assaults, but Johansson said police would look into that as part of the natural progression of their investigation.
