A 29-year-old man accused of raping an autistic woman who had sneaked away from home to see TV drama locations in Nakhon Sawan has been arrested in Nonthaburi.
Crime Suppression Division police apprehended Wasant Khong-anan at a rented room in Pak Kret district of Nonthaburi on Tuesday.
Mr Wasant was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Nakhon Sawan court on charges of rape using force, and assaulting a person with a mental disorder.
Pol Col Boonlue Phadungthin, head of CSD subdivision 3, said on Tuesday that the 25-year-old victim, whose name was withheld, had sneaked out of her Bangkok home to board a train and see locations where scenes were shot for a popular TV drama in Chumsaeng district of Nakhon Sawan.
The woman had spent all her money to get there, and could not return home. She just waited at Chumsaeng railway station.
Mr Wasant passed the station and saw the woman, parked his motorcycle and approached her, according to Pol Col Boonlue.
He said he would take her home, and she believed him and agreed to go with him. Instead, he took her to his house, where he allegedly raped her.
Afterwards, Mr Wasant took her back to Chumsaeng railway station and gave her 100 baht to catch a train to Bangkok, Pol Col Boonlue said.
When the woman returned home, her family asked where she had been, and later learned about the alleged rape. They took her to file a complaint with Chumsaeng police.
Mr Wasant had left Nakhon Sawan to work in Bangkok, and was subsequently arrested in Nonthaburi on Tuesday.
During interrogation, Mr Wasant allegedly confessed to the charges.
Pol Col Boonlue said the suspect had a prior criminal record - two physical assault cases and using methamphetamine. He was handed over to Chumsaeng police station for legal action.