An undocumented immigrant who illegally crossed the border into the United States was arrested in Florida over the weekend on suspicion of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in his van.
Marvin Perez López, 20, from Guatemala, allegedly confessed last week to snatching the girl from outside her Lake Worth home and forcing her into his car. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
The girl’s mother said she found Lopez attacking her when she went to look for her daughter outside the apartment.
The suspect (who lives in the same building as the victim) fled the scene after the mother began banging on the van window and screaming for help. CBS12 reported.
Later, when sheriff’s deputies arrived at Lopez’s home, they saw him fleeing through a back window into an alley.
He was eventually arrested on Saturday and charged with numerous charges, including kidnapping for sexual assault of a minor, sexual assault of a victim under 12, and resisting an officer.
Lopez was released in the United States after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in early January, the sheriff’s office said.
He turned himself in to Border Patrol, was listed as an illegal immigrant and was given an immigration court date in 2027, officials added.
“Here is a Guatemalan who entered the country illegally. He was stopped by a released Border Patrol agent and headed to South Florida. And now he is holding an 11-year-old girl against her will and sexually assaulting her. committed the crime of adding to the crime,” said Sheriff Rick Bradshaw.
“We caught him. He confessed to the crime. That means he will be tried for a crime punishable by death before he even thinks for a second that he will be deported. He will be here first. We’re going to spend some time in the,” the sheriff added.
“The federal government is victimizing people who live in this country by allowing them to come into this country.”
Lopez is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail.
