Two men are facing multiple felony charges after allegedly attacking a trans woman at a University of Wisconsin – Madison campus pier in what prosecutors describe as a violent attempted sexual assault.

Yorfred Gutierrez, 31, and Arturo Santos Albujas, 27, were arrested at the scene and are each charged with attempted second-degree sexual assault and battery, as well as strangulation, suffocation and false imprisonment as a party to a crime.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court on Tuesday (1 September), the woman met the men on Madison’s State Street in the early hours of Saturday morning (29 August). She said they asked her to accompany them to a boat at a campus pier on Lake Mendota. When she discovered there was no boat and attempted to leave, she alleges the men attacked her.

The complaint says the woman was beaten, dragged along the pier and restrained while the men allegedly attempted to force her into unwanted sexual acts. She told police that she feared she was going to die, as reported by WKOW.

Two witnesses contacted police after reportedly seeing the attack. Their accounts, along with surveillance footage, corroborated significant portions of the woman’s account, according to the complaint.

Police said the woman made clear that she did not consent to the alleged sexual activity. She was taken to a hospital with rib pain, and officers documented abrasions on her knees and an open wound on her elbow.

The complaint also describes evidence officers say they observed on Gutierrez after the arrests, including dried blood on his hands and under a fingernail, torn calluses and a cut on his arm.

Both men have disputed the allegations. Gutierrez reportedly told police that “nothing happened” and characterised his interactions with the woman as joking around. Santos Albujas declined to speak with investigators without a lawyer present.

Santos Albujas’ alleged reaction immediately after the incident has also drawn attention. While being detained in a police vehicle, before officers had explained why he was being held, he reportedly told an officer in Spanish that he was not gay and questioned why he was being associated with “this weird stuff”. He also reportedly emphasised that he had a wife and children, as reported by the Wisconsin State Journal.

Neither the woman nor the two men are affiliated with the University of Wisconsin, according to the complaint.

Gutierrez’s bond was set at $75,000 and Santos Albujas’ at $100,000. Both remain in custody and are scheduled for preliminary hearings on 8 September.

If convicted, each man could face up to 20 years in prison on the attempted sexual assault charge, in addition to potential sentences of up to six years on each of the strangulation and false-imprisonment charges.

Both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.