Georgia media company owner charged with rape

The owner and operator of a Georgia media promotions company has been charged with raping a woman in Floyd County, police said.

Dean Arce, 27, whose company website touts connections to major Atlanta music festivals, was arrested Friday and is being held without bond, according to police.

Police say he met a woman on social media and told her he was a professional photographer for new clothing lines. The victim reported that once Arce got alone with her, he drugged and raped her, a Floyd County police detective told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“We’re concerned that this is something that he does on a regular basis,” investigator Amy Nails said, explaining that interviews of some of Arce’s acquaintances turned up troubling details.

Arce has a company registered with the state called Community Entertainment Solutions. It has a Rome address, though Nails said he actually operates out of Atlanta.

The website describes the company as a “full-scale production firm” that has been associated with festivals that include Shaky Knees, Shaky Boots, Imagine, SweetWater 420 Fest and TomorrowWorld. That could not be independently verified Saturday.

Arce appears to handle advertising for music acts, and his website says he also has worked in Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas.

Nails said she is looking into Arce’s company, given that several people have complained on Facebook about not receiving tickets and payments.

The alleged rape happened Sept. 20 in unincorporated Floyd County, outside Rome, police said. Nails would not disclose the victim’s age, but said she is younger than 21.

“What he does is represent himself as something that he is not,” the investigator said. “The Atlanta metro area has a huge younger crowd, and younger people tend to be much more believing and more vulnerable than say, someone Dean’s own age.”

Floyd County police ask that anyone with information about the case call 706-314-0758.