‘You want to work, right?’ Police say Raleigh man used job to assault employee
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- A Raleigh man was charged with rape and kidnapping after alleged assaults on his employee.
- The victim reported her employer coerced and repeatedly harassed her.
- A search warrant details incidents from January 2024 through July 2025.
A Raleigh man accused of using his construction business to sexually assault women raped one of his employees, a newly released search warrant alleges.
Jose Alfredo Cartagena Guzman, 43, is charged with two counts of second-degree forcible rape and one count of first-degree kidnapping in connection with two assaults in Durham in July, police said.
He was arrested just over the border with Virginia last month, according to a police spokesperson.
Guzman is accused of sexually assaulting an employee on at least four occasions spanning January 2024 and July of this year, a warrant released Friday states. The woman contacted police July 29 to report the incidents.
“The victim disclosed a pattern of coercion and exploitation in which Jose Alfredo Cartagena Guzman used his authority as her employer to pressure her into unwanted sexual activity,” the warrant states.
The first two assaults occurred in hotels in Raleigh in January and February 2024, while the third and fourth incidents took place at an empty home in Durham this year, according to the warrant.
The woman described falling asleep in Guzman’s car during a work trip last winter and waking up to find they were in a hotel parking lot, the warrant states.
“When she questioned him, Jose Alfredo Cartagena Guzman replied, ‘You want to work, right? This is how it is,’” the warrant states.
Guzman then assaulted her for 30 minutes, according to the warrant.
The Durham assaults took place when Guzman took his employee to a vacant home to do cleaning and plumbing work, the warrant states. Afterward, he ordered the woman not to tell anyone she’d worked that day, it states.
In speaking with detectives, the woman “repeatedly emphasized feelings of powerlessness, noting her dependency on Jose Alfredo Cartagena Guzman for employment and her lack of family support,” the warrant states. She received a sexual assault nurse medical examination, which documented scattered injuries to her back, stomach and extremities, according to the warrant.
When the woman shared her phone with the detective, messages between Guzman and the employee indicated “persistent harassment, including repeated requests for photographs, unsolicited sexual statements, explicit images sent by Jose Alfredo Cartagena Guzman, and numerous unanswered calls,” the warrant alleges.
A warrant for Guzman’s arrest was issued Aug. 22, and he was arrested Sept. 10, according to court records. He was indicted on two charges of second-degree forcible rape Oct. 6.
Police said last week they believe Guzman may have targeted others, and they encouraged any additional victims to come forward.
Anyone with information can contact Investigator C. Park at 919-560-4440 ext. 29321 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200, or online at www.durhamcrimestoppers.org. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases, and callers never have to identify themselves.
Guzman posted $300,000 secured bond Oct. 2, records show. His next court date has yet to be set.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM with the headline "‘You want to work, right?’ Police say Raleigh man used job to assault employee."
