23-year-old Fort Bragg man’s own statements lead to his arrest for rape in sex assault case, but the angry and self righteous targeted an innocent man and communities, lets stop that forever.
Editor’s note— Please remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. The suspect arrested is 6 foot 3, 185 lbs, and 23 years old. He is a 2021 graduate of Mendocino High School. Please note– this person does not appear to be one of the “Facebook suspects” that were being shared around and accused! People shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It is very dangerous to do so!
Printing scanner chatter is also not appropriate to print as news. It is wrong to do so! Please let the police do their job. From all appearances so far here, they did.
The community is right to rejoice that someone has been arrested and jailed after a thorough investigation into a very scary crime. Sexual assaults performed by strangers are rare, horrible and terrifying. In a great deal of rape and sexual assault cases the victim knows the person committing the crime, a friend, family member, co-worker, casual accuantence, but they know them.
There is no need for people who are not involved in the case to spew out hate after an arrest. This helps nobody.
Many community members started pointed fingers at members of certain communities and certain individuals on Facebook and IG. They were wrong to do so!!!
This is – Bad stuff. Please don’t do this and don’t share other individual posts you don’t know to be true. I had some individual who asked to share their thoughts with me privately. And that’s fine, healthy communication among community members can be helpful. Public shaming such as saying lets gather up all the unhoused individuals for screening or all the people of a certain gender orientation for screening based solely on the fact that they are members of those groups is a TERRIBLE thing to do!! And now these folks are back, raging at the arrested guy as if they never did this. To set the record straight, an older trans homeless man suffered at the hands of raging self-righteous folks, who have NO ROLE, nor did they ever. Let’s never do this again. Don’t find random videos of real people and share them widely and say this is the guy. Imagine how much worse that could have turned out for an innocent man.
From what I know, he was not trans, he was not homeless, but lived in an apartment. Shame on you folks.
A legal point: Police do NOT charge anyone. Police arrest people on suspicion of charges. Nobody is charged until the district attorney reviews police reports and files charges. In this case the FBPD press release alleges rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment. The case had originally been reported as a sexual assault, in which the man broke into the home of a stranger. Not sure what changed or why the public needs to know that. In larger cities, the AGE of the victim would be reported. I have not asked for that because in this small town, I feel it would narrow it down too much. In my training as a journalist we do NOT report names of rape victims.
The following is the press release about the arrest:
UPDATED MEDIA RELEASE
Arrest Made in Sexual Assault
06/28/2025
Previous Release: 6/22/0225
On June 28, 2025, at approximately 8:00 AM, officers from the Fort Bragg Police Department
served two search warrants in the 100 block of S. McPherson Street in relation to an ongoing
investigation into a sexual assault that occurred on June 21, 2025.
Upon arrival, Officers made entry into the residence and contacted multiple people inside,
including the suspect who was detained and interviewed by the investigating officer.
A search of the residence was also conducted during which officers located and seized several
items linking the suspect to this sexual assault investigation, and other cold cases of burglary and
prowling currently being investigated by the department.
Based on statements from the suspect, as well as evidence obtained on scene, Cayden Craig, 23
of Fort Bragg, was arrested for violation of PC 261 (a)(2) (Rape), 459 (Burglary), and 236 (False
Imprisonment). Craig was booked and transported to the Mendocino County Jail. A bail
enhancement was granted, and his bail is currently set at $1,000,000.
Officers will continue to follow up on any additional information as this investigation moves
forward. If you need to report a crime, or would like to speak with an officer, please contact us at
(707) 964-0200 or 911 for emergencies.
Chief Neil Cervenka said, “I am incredibly proud of the dedication and tenacity of our officers
on this investigation. While they started with only a brief video of a masked subject, over the
course of one week they chased every lead, conducted surveillance, obtained search warrants,
located direct evidence to several crimes, and made an arrest of the person suspected of a violent
crime. Demonstrating they are committed to the safety of our community.”
The community portal related to this investigation will remain open. The community is asked to
continue to submit information they feel is relevant to the investigation.
To utilize the portal, please visit the link below or utilize the attached quick-response code (QR
Code). The portal will send a link by either text or email for the reporting party to upload the
evidence and allow the person submitting to provide a brief statement about when and where the
activity occurred. The portal also accepts anonymous submissions. Simply uncheck “provide my
information,” and your submission will remain anonymous. Submissions to the portal will be
uploaded directly to evidence.com where officers can review them.
