CHICAGO: Lebanese national Marwan Habib, 32, has been jailed without bond after he was arrested on Friday for sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel in Miami, Florida.
He appeared in court on Friday before Miami-Dade 11th Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez after he was taken into custody.
Habib met his victim at a club but later followed her to her hotel and then fraudulently convinced the clerk to give him a key to her room.
Police told reporters that Habib had entered the victim’s room at Hotel Victor in South Beach on Friday night and then sexually assaulted her.
He faces the felony charge of “burglary with assault or battery,” according to court records. He is also being held for an “immigration review” by the court.
Habib asked the judge if he could “pay a fine and go home,” but Mendez responded: “You are not going home today, sir.” She denied him bond, which would have allowed him to be free until his next court hearing.
Instead, he was ordered into the custody of the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he is being held pending further court appearances.
Police are investigating whether Habib tracked and sexually assaulted other women, according to Miami media reports.
Police said they are investigating several complaints from women who said they were harassed by the suspect.
Habib has reportedly alluded police in Lebanon, where he is suspected of rape and sexual assault.
According to court records, he could be extradited back to Lebanon, where he could face further charges.