What did Zachary Mills do? Houston man charged for assaulting online date

On Thursday, December 29, Houston man Zachary Mills was arrested for allegedly kidnapping his online date, before assaulting her over the course of five days.

As per Houston Public Media, on December 24 the female victim reportedly arrived at Zachary Mills' residence after meeting him on the online dating platform, Bumble.

After she rejected the suspect's advances, he reportedly attacked her, before holding her against her will to further torture and abuse her. She claimed that the cruel treatment continued until she was able to escape Zachary Mills' residence on December 29.

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Zachary Mills pleads not guilty to the charges against him

The suspect has been charged with first-degree kidnapping. As per the New York Post, after the woman reportedly rejected his advances, he bit her, struck her, and assaulted her with a screwdriver handle.

In an official statement released by Harris County authorities, the nature of the abuse was further detailed.

The statement read:

"While being held against her will, (the female victim) was denied food and water and was assaulted and s*xually assaulted multiple times leading to serious bodily injury."

In an interview with KHOU, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 Capt. Jonathan Zitzmann described the nature of the victim's injuries.

He said:

“The victim in this case had severe injuries to her face, orbital sockets, lower extremities; thankfully, we were able to get her to the hospital very quickly."

Houston Public Media stated that the day after the victim reported the crime to authorities, Harris County Officials executed a search warrant for the suspect's home. He was subsequently arrested at a gas station across the street from the alleged crime scene.

As per WSAZ, the incident shocked several neighbors in the area.

One neighbor, Keyana Archer said:

“People are crazy. It’s pretty scary with the new dating world only being mostly online.”

However, Zachary Mills' defense attorney, Chris Denuna, said that his client is pleading not guilty. He claimed that the allegations against Mills seem unlikely, as he was unconvinced that the victim was held against her will for five days.

He said:

"Not to be insensitive to the complaining witness or anyone who has experienced these traumatic events, but it's important to know there are two sides to the story."

Denuna continued:

"My client is presumed innocent as is provided through due process, and I think it's important to note once we get everything turned over from the DA's office. I think a lot of light will be shed and a lot of questions answered. The credibility of these allegations can be questioned."

He told KHOU in a separate interview:

“(I have) not seen anything in the allegations that make them credible.”

Zachary Mills is currently being detained in Harris County Jail with his bail set at $50,000.