New Orleans Police have arrested Carlos Pena Cifuentes, a 21-year-old Loyola student originally from Madrid, Spain, in connection with a Sept. 20 sexual battery that occurred at The Boot Bar and Grill. The arrest comes after a Loyola student reported being approached and touched without consent.  

It was later learned that another woman at The Boot became incapacitated after only one drink on the same night, raising suspicion that she had been drugged. 

“We are going to take all methods available to us through our disciplinary process to ensure the safety of the students,” Patricia Murret, Loyola associate director of public affairs, wrote in an email to the Loyola student body. 

The Sept. 20 incident and the description of the suspect were similar in nature to the details of two previous sexual assaults that began after victims were approached at The Boot on Aug. 24 and Sept. 5. 

In the September incident, a Loyola student woke up with injuries on the railroad tracks near the corner of Leake Avenue and South Carrolton Avenue. She had been approached by an unknown man that night at The Boot and taken to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted, according to Tulane University Police Department. 

Mayor LaToya Cantrell visited The Boot Bar & Grill on Sept. 7 following the two initial sexual assaults that began at the campus bar. 

She spoke with Boot management to learn more about the incidents before sending out a message of support to the victims. 

“The city cares,” Cantrell told The Hullabaloo at the time. She said curbing sexual assault is a top priority. 

NOPD detectives reportedly identified Cifuentes as the offender and obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on Saturday. 

The NOPD, TUPD and Loyola University Police Department investigation is ongoing and the owner of The Boot is reportedly cooperating with police. 

The Hullabaloo will update this story as more details become available.