A Southern California man attending the Burning Man festival was arrested on rape and burglary charges, officials said.
Alessandro Boshant, 34, was taken into custody Tuesday after a fellow festivalgoer told authorities she had been sexually assaulted while attending the event held at a pop-up city in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
The woman — who reported the alleged assault Monday, the last day of the nine-day festival — provided “ a very distinct description of the male suspect, which is sometimes very difficult to obtain at a festival such as Burning Man,” Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said late Tuesday.
Investigators then searched the “remaining area” of the massive festival — which drew an estimated 70,000 attendees this year — and arrested Boshant, who Allen described as “the only suspect for this crime.”
He was charged with four counts of sexual assault/rape and one count of burglary of a structure, which is defined in Nevada as unlawfully entering or remaining in a building with the intent to commit a crime, officials said. His bail was set at $640,000
Boshant’s alleged sexual assault isn’t the only case under investigation at the massively popular festival, which organizers describe as a “global cultural movement advancing a more creative, connected and thriving society.”
In the early hours of Monday, deputies conducting a traffic stop for a permit violation found two firearms, “large quantities of several different illicit substances,” and evidence of intent to distribute.
The driver of the vehicle, Michael Olney, was arrested for having firearms as a convicted felon, attempting to sell and trafficking a controlled substance, and possession of a dangerous weapon. His bail was set at $92,500.
On Saturday, deputies found a man “lying in a pool of blood” who was “obviously deceased,” Allen said. The incident is being investigated as a homicide.
