Editor’s Note: This story contains details about a sexual assault and may be triggering for some people.
A chef who worked at the Mountain Room Restaurant at Yosemite Valley Lodge is charged with sexually assaulting a co-worker.
Danavon Caine entered a not guilty plea last week in federal court. He is considered a flight risk and is currently in custody without bail.
He is the fourth employee of the park’s concessionaire, Yosemite Hospitality, also known as Aramark, to face criminal sex charges in the last seven years. Another chef from the Mountain Room Restaurant was convicted of sexual assault three years ago.
Caine, 37, is a Jamaican foreign national who was in the U.S. on a six-month seasonal work visa.
The victim, a 19-year-old woman, told investigators she worked with Caine at Yosemite Valley Lodge for the last four months and they would often hang out. She “thought they were cool” and platonic friends.
They met after her shift at 11:30 p.m., July 17, and walked to his residence in the employee housing area.
According to the federal charges:
Both sat on a cot in a grassy area and looked at the stars as they talked about their workplace.
About an hour into the conversation, Caine abruptly shifted the subject to sex, the victim said.
“My mind just kind of went black and I laid down and he just started taking off my clothes. And I don’t know, may (be) it was consensual at first, but he was just on top of me and like kissing me and stuff,” she told investigators.
According to the criminal charges, Caine began performing oral sex on her as she told him to stop four or five times and was pushing him away.
He then allegedly raped her.
The victim told investigators Caine had his hand on her throat and she thought he was going to strangle and kill her.
She said after the sexually assault he walked her back to her residence with his arm around her.
“I wanted him to leave me alone and stop touching me,” she said to investigators.
There are two corroborating witnesses the victim talked in the early morning hours of July 18 after she returned home, including a friend who told her she needed to contact law enforcement.
She was taken the next day to a sexual assault forensic exam in Fresno, when Caine sent her a text message: “Hey what’s up, did you tell a lie on me or something? If you did please make it right because you know I wouldn’t harm you or anyone in anyway.”
Six days later, July 23, investigators with the National Park Service executed a search warrant for Caine’s employee housing.
During the search of his living quarters, Caine told investigators the sex was consensual.
The charges are federal because the alleged crime occurred within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park.
The criminal complaint in the case was sealed on July 29 because authorities said Caine was a flight risk.
A warrant was obtained on July 29 and Caine was arrested on July 31.
If convicted, Caine faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case calls to mind other sexual assaults in Yosemite National Park in recent years involving employees of Yosemite Hospitality, aka Aramark, assaulting fellow co-workers.
In 2024, Nathan Baptista, 36, allegedly raped and strangled a fellow Aramark employee. He was indicted for aggravated sexual abuse. He fled before his trial in June 2025 and remains a fugitive.
In 2020, Charles Porter, 32, an Aramark employee, entered the cabin of another employee and began sexually assaulting him, biting and punching him during the attack. In April 2022, Porter was found guilty of multiple sex crimes and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In 2019, Ramonchito Racion, 52, was working as a cook in the Mountain Room Restaurant when he was charged with sexual abuse against his male roommate while the victim was sleeping. In March 2023, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Aramark requires pre-employment criminal background checks and drug testing for applicants. In California, standard employment background checks generally look back seven years for conviction records.
“The safety and wellbeing of our employees is top priority,” a spokesperson for Aramark said in a statement.
“We take allegations of this nature seriously, cooperate with the proper authorities, and are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace,” the statement said.
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