HCPD: Man arrested after foreign student reports rape at hotel after answering Craigslist ad for models

A 32-year-old man was arrested after a foreign, female student told police she was handcuffed and raped in a hotel room after answering a job advertisement for models on Craigslist, police said.

Paul Joseph Shuler of Myrtle Beach was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree kidnapping, according to Lt. Raul Denis, spokesman with the Horry County Police Department.

The 20-year-old victim is believed to be in Myrtle Beach on a legal visa working for the summer, authorities said.

The victim said she met with Shuler at a Myrtle Beach restaurant then agreed to meet him the next day for a photo shoot, police said.

The victim met with Shuler Thursday and the two traveled together to a hotel room on Shore Drive, off Lake Arrowhead Road, where he asked to take pictures of her in a bathing suit, Denis said.

The victim said she refused and Shuler then falsely identified himself as an immigration agent, threatened her with deportation, handcuffed and raped her, police said.

After Horry County police investigated, they “quickly closed in on a dangerous predator,” Denis said.

Shuler was arrested without incident the day after the alleged crimes and taken to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center where he awaited a bond hearing as of Saturday morning, according to jail records.

Horry County police are not investigating any other Craigslist listings at this time, authorities said.

Denis also said caution should be exercised when navigating websites like Craigslist.

“If you see something that looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Denis said.

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 11:16 AM with the headline "HCPD: Man arrested after foreign student reports rape at hotel after answering Craigslist ad for models."