Three illegal immigrants from El Salvador raped three young girls in a Jasper County, Indiana hotel for several hours last week, according to police.
All three victims are under the age of 14, and two of them approached a school guidance counselor about the alleged hours long rape on April 6, which sparked a police investigation and arrest of Yonatan Ramirez-Diaz and Melvin Ramirez-Morales, both 20, and Edwin Marquina-Valesquez, 26, according to the Jasper County News.
The girls said the three Hispanic men picked them up in a white Honda Civic in White County and made several stops in Lafayette before taking them to a motel near I-65 and State Road 114, where they were raped for several hours. One of the victims said she was also sexually assaulted in the car again after the hotel stay, the news site reports.
All three of the men are in the country illegally from El Salvador, and now face possible deportation, Fox 59 reports.
As the girls received medical care and exams, Indiana State Police Crime Scene Technicians collected evidence at the motel and in the white Honda. Police also recovered video that collaborated the girls’ statements. Authorities arrested the men in Monon Friday, and booked them into the Jasper County Law Enforcement Detention Center where they remain on a hold by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, WLFI reports.
The Jasper County News details the litany of charges the men face:
Yonatan Ramirez-Diaz was charged with the following: Level 1 Felony – Sexual Misconduct with Minor by Force; Level 3 Felony – Rape When Compelled by Force or Threat; Level 5 Felony – Criminal Confinement with Victim under 14 Years of Age; and Level 6 Felony – Strangulation
Edwin Marquina-Valesquez was charged with the following; Level 1 Felony – Child Molesting Defendant is at least 21 Years of Age; Level 3 Felony – Rape When Victim is Unaware of Actions; Level 3 Felony – Rape When Compelled by Force or Threat; and Level 5 Felony – Criminal Confinement, Victim under 14 Years of Age
Melvin Ramirez-Morales was charged with the following; Level 3 Felony – Child Molesting; Level 3 Felony – Rape When Victim is Unaware of Actions; Level 3 Felony – Rape When Compelled by Force or Threat; and Level 5 Felony – Criminal Confinement Victim Under 14 Years of Age
The situation in Indiana is not unlike a recent case in Washington, D.C., where police contend two Honduran nationals in the country illegally abducted a 12-year-old girl and took her to a home in Wheaton, Maryland for a brutal sexual assault.
Enrique Carbajal, 24, and Victor Tome, 19, now face criminal charges and a hold by ICE for possible deportation, according to Fox 5.
Both cases, of course, are prime examples of some of the seedy characters who flood across the U.S.-Mexico border with the masses of other immigrants. They represent the dangerous criminals that Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against in his quest to build a wall along the border.
Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, blames “sanctuary friendly” local governments for harboring illegal immigrants in a conversation with Fox 5. He also said local police are frustrated by a lack of coordination by federal officials.
“There is virtually no communication,” Stein said. “What happened here was a tragedy that could have been avoided, but it is what happens when you allow illegal immigration to go on, to encourage it, promote it, reward it, and Montgomery County has been part of the problem.”
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