Arrest made in kidnapping, sex assault of Cape Coral teen

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Darnell Herman Walker

CAPE CORAL, Fla. A second arrest was made Tuesday in the kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery of a 17-year-old Cape Coral girl.

Darnell Herman Walker, 33, was taken into custody in Broward County, Cape Coral police said. He’s accused of collaborating with the victim’s boss, 19-year-old Laila Fouissi, who was arrested in June.

The victim told Fouissi, her manager at the Taco Bell on 11 Hancock Bridge Parkway, she was about to lose her work permit, Cape police said. Fouissi told her she could get her a job as a stripper if she would meet Walker, according to police.

Walker later took the victim under a bridge and forced her to perform a sex act, police said.

“Our Major Crimes Unit worked nonstop on this case from the start to make sure those involved in this truly evil act were held responsible,” Cape Coral police Cpl. Phil Mullen said. “We are very proud of the work our detectives did to bring this pair to justice, and for the continuing work they are putting into this ongoing case to stop this from happening to others.”

Fouissi and Walker made additional threats while driving the victim home in order to obtain her debit card, and they used it to withdraw money from her account, police said.

Walker warned the victim at one point that, “We are a mafia,” and threatened her with retribution if she didn’t work for him, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

“You know, this is like a movie,” he said, according to the sheriff’s office. “We are a mafia. You can bring the police, you can bring the FBI, the CIA, and they’re not going to stop me. You already did this, now you gotta be down.”

Walker faces sexual battery, kidnapping, robbery and human trafficking charges. No bond has been set for him.

Fouissi remains in custody after a judge rejected a request to have her $300,000 bond reduced.

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