LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A woman suffered such severe injuries during an alleged sexual assault at a Las Vegas Strip hotel that she had to undergo surgery.
According to the arrest report for Skye Nathan Branklyn, 41, who is a San Francisco Bay Area rapper also known as “Sky Balla,” the sexual assault took place at the Aria on June 1, 2021. Branklyn, who is a registered sex offender, was arrested on June 11.
The woman went to University Medical Center on June 4 for treatment of painful injuries and disclosed to medical personnel that she had been raped, according to the report. Police were contacted and began an investigation, the report said.
The woman told police she was “very scared of the suspect” and said she had met Branklyn at Aria’s High Limit Lounge where he ordered some shots of tequila. According to the arrest report, she said her next memory was of Branklyn sexually assaulting her in a room and her begging him to stop. She told police Branklyn told her to “shut up” and “punched her in the face several times,” knocking her unconscious.
The report says the victim told detectives when she woke up, there was vomit in her hair and “blood everywhere.”
During the investigation, police learned there was a lot of blood found in the hotel room. Housekeeping, who went to clean the room the next day, advised security there was a biohazard concern. One cleaner even admitted to being scared to enter the room.
The report said housekeeping was informed that hotel security had checked the room and believed the stains were from spilled wine. Therefore, the room was cleaned. A few housekeeping employees, interviewed by police, said they were certain it was blood, not wine. Detectives also learned bloody towels had been disposed of.
Police were able to obtain Aria surveillance video that allegedly showed the victim and Branklyn. The video showed that the “suspect forced the victim to drink by pulling her head back and pouring the drink into her mouth,” according to the report. A few minutes later, the “suspect grabbed [the] victim’s phone and grabbed [her] by the arm, leaving the bar. Suspect placed his hand around the back of [the] victim’s neck and forced her into an elevator.”
Branklyn has had three previous arrests for sexual assault, one that resulted in a conviction in California in 2009 and requires him to register as a sex offender.
Branklyn is facing two counts of sexual assault, one count of sexual assault resulting in substantial bodily harm, one count of battery with intent to commit sexual assault, and one count of coercion sexually motivated.
