Son of Napleton Auto Group president charged with sexual battery in Florida

Edward Napleton Jr., a manager at Napleton Automotive Group and son of company President Ed Napleton, was arrested this week in Florida and charged with sexual battery related to an incident in August, according to local media reports.

CBS12 News reported that police said Napleton Jr., 39, raped an unconscious woman at a West Palm Beach, Fla., hotel last August. Napleton Jr., of Hinsdale, Ill., was booked in jail Sunday and released on bond Monday after being charged with sexual battery on a helpless person.

According to a West Palm Beach, Fla., police department report posted on CBS12 News, a 33-year-old woman contacted authorities about an alleged assault after waking up naked in bed Aug. 8 at the Marriott hotel. She told police she was in town for a work-related function and had a couple of glasses of wine at a local restaurant the previous night before waking up at the hotel. Hotel surveillance video showed Napleton Jr. with her, the police report said.

Napleton Jr.'s lawyer, Richard Lubin, told the TV station outside of court Monday that Napleton Jr. "vehemently denies" guilt in the case. Lubin did not immediately return a message left at his office Wednesday morning.

According to the police report, the woman identified Napleton Jr. and another man in the hotel video to police. The video showed the woman being dragged by her feet into a hotel room by the two men after falling. Napleton Jr. and the other man entered the room and were there for about 30 seconds before leaving, the report said.

Video surveillance then showed the woman exit her room and fall again in the hallway, the report said. Hotel staff members said they found the woman unconscious and returned her to her room in a wheelchair.

According to the police report, the hotel staff gave one of the men a key to the woman's room around 1:20 a.m. Afterward, video footage showed both men walking to the woman's room. The report said Napleton Jr. entered the room just after 1:30 a.m. and left six hours later.

Forensics tests identified Napleton Jr.'s DNA on the woman's body, the police report said.

Napleton Automotive Group provided a statement to Automotive News Wednesday that read: "Our company has strict policies and procedures in place to protect the safety and well-being of all employees. In this case, no policy or law was violated. We fully support Eddie as he fights to clear his name in court and trust that justice will prevail."

Napleton Automotive didn't say whether the woman was an employee.

Napleton Automotive Group, of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., ranks No. 26 on the Automotive News list of the top 150 dealership groups with 27,900 new vehicles retailed in 2017. On its website, the company says it operates more than 60 locations in seven states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.