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William Derr, 40, of Pahrump, was arrested for two sexual assaults and one attempted assault that have occurred in the valley since last March.

Derr's arrest is a testimony to importance of victim and witness information in helping to apprehend a suspect.

The arrest, which occurred Wednesday at about 5:30 p.m., was partially the result of witness and victim identification of the suspect in a line-up after a months-long investigation by the Nye County Sheriff's Office.

The first victim Derr is allegedly responsible for assaulting was working as a substitute bartender at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10054 on Homestead Road March 7.

The 58-year-old female victim was allegedly accosted by Derr that Wednesday night when he forced her to go to the back of the building by threatening to hit her with a metal pipe.

The victim had her hands and feet bound with black nylon zip ties and was sexually assaulted, in addition to being beaten. After the assault, the victim was left lying behind the building until she was discovered the next morning.

The bartender reportedly told sheriff's deputies that her assailant had a "'gravelly'" voice and drove away in a "quiet-sounding" vehicle. She also identified a small, dark hatchback car which she said had been parked at the VFW and sounded like the suspect's vehicle.

Sheriff's deputies were told that approximately two to three weeks prior to that assault, a man identified as Derr came into the VFW bar around closing time and went into the men's rest room.

According to the witness, Derr stayed in the bathroom for about 10 minutes before another male customer went in and asked him to leave.

Derr came out and told the witness that he had run out of gas and was waiting for his wife to pick him up.

The witness also told deputies that a few weeks later, again on a Wednesday night, Derr came into the bar and again told the same story: he ran out of gas and was waiting for a ride.

The woman identified Derr as the man who came in from a photo line-up.

Three days after the VFW assault, a second victim said she was approached by a neighbor who she knew as Derr at her residence.

The 30-year-old woman said Derr held a knife to her throat, took her into the bedroom, and sexually assaulted her.

The following month, on April 1, a third victim who also identified Derr as her assailant through a photo line-up, narrowly escaped being sexually assaulted as well.

The third victim was outside Valley Bar on Gamebird Street and said she was followed around the corner by the assailant.

She told deputies that the man asked her where she was from and when she gave him a false location he hit her in the head three times with her fist.

The victim reportedly said that when the man aggressively came at her again, she pushed him away and attempted to hit back but missed.

Other patrons outside the bar came over because of the noise and the attacker left the area.

The bartender on duty reportedly told deputies that while this incident occurred she saw a small, dark hatchback in the parking lot with the engine running and the door open.

Investigation by the sheriff's office led them to a relative of Derr's girlfriend, who drove a dark hatchback vehicle like the one described by witnesses.

The vehicle was found parked at the relative's residence where Derr was currently living.

On Wednesday night, deputies conducted an interview with Derr, after which he was arrested and taken to the detention center.

Derr was booked with kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted sexual assault. His bail was set at $175,000.