A North Carolina truck driver accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Texarkana, Ark., truck stop has been charged with two counts of forcible rape by prosecutors in Miller County.
Jocelyn Louissaint, 47, aka Joe Louis, allegedly held a knife to a woman's throat, pinned her arms down and sexually assaulted her in his Freightliner tractor trailer while parked Oct. 10 at the Flying J Truck Stop on Highway 108 in Texarkana, Ark., according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. The woman, a Haitian native who spoke little English, told police she managed to escape from the truck and flee.
"Once she exited she was screaming for help," the affidavit states.
Officers noted that the woman was shaking and crying. She showed them a Florida identification card and proof that she is a permanent resident of the U.S. whose country of origin is Haiti. The woman told investigators she knows Louissaint from Haiti and that she rode with him from Miami to Texarkana.
A witness at the scene took a photo of the suspect's truck before it drove away. The photo allegedly showed a light blue Freightliner with, "Joe Louis Logistics," and "Greensboro, North Carolina," painted on the side, which the woman identified as the truck where she was attacked.
The alleged victim was taken to a local emergency room for a sexual assault examination. A truck stop manager showed officers video surveillance footage that shows the truck pull up next to fuel pumps and remain parked for "a lengthy period of time."
A man matching the woman's description of her assailant entered the store and paid $400 for fuel that he never pumped.
"She (the truck stop manager) later advised me the subject called the business and stated he wanted a refund to his card because the fuel pump would not work," the affidavit states.
The man calling about the unpumped fuel allegedly identified himself as Joe Louis and provided a North Carolina driver's license number, which is allegedly Louissaint's.
Louissaint was arrested Nov. 4. He made an intial court appearance Nov. 9, court records show. Bail was set at $150,000 with the conditions that he surrender his passport, have no contact with the alleged victim and that he wear an electronic monitor if released. Louissaint posted bond Nov. 17. He is scheduled to return to court in January.
If convicted, Louissaint faces a sentence of 10 to 40 years or life on each of the two counts of rape pending against him.