Tinder date leads to sex abuse charge for Bettendorf man

IOWA CITY - A Bettendorf man is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met through the dating app Tinder.

According to Iowa City police, Zachary K. Berry, 20, and the woman met on Tinder and agreed to meet in December for dinner and a movie.

Police said on Dec. 20, the pair met and Berry initially tried to get the woman to perform a sex act but she declined. They later went to a restaurant, where Berry allegedly parked in a nearby parking lot and began to kiss and touch the woman.

The woman told police that Berry bit her neck and choked her to the point that it became difficult to breathe. Berry is accused of then forcing the woman to have sex with him, police said.

Police said the woman suffered bruising and pain on her neck and chest.

Berry admitted to having sex with the woman but denied she told him no, police said. He admitted to 'gently choking” her, police said.

Berry was arrested and faces one count of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.