29-year-old Hector Lopez Zepeta from Guatemala is in jail for alleged sexual assault. He is accused of raping a woman before and after they illegally crossed the U.S./Mexico border, according to police reports.
Noe Castillo, Assistant Chief of Police at the Rio Grande City Police Department (RGCPD) told Breitbart Texas that Zepeta and the victim were picked up by Border Patrol on Sunday. RGCPD officers arrested Zepeta on Tuesday, after agents learned about the alleged sexual abuse. He is currently being held in the Starr County Jail.
Castillo said that the woman, who was initially headed to New York, is no longer in federal detention. Rather, she is in a safe house.
“We spoke to the Guatemalan consulate and they give us information,” Castillo said.
“We’ve had only a few cases like this in the last couple of years,” Castillo said. “Victims are hesitant to ask law enforcement for help because they’re scared they will get deported. These cases are under-reported; we have people coming into the U.S. who are rapists or pedophiles who are not getting arrested because the crimes are not being reported.”
Castillo continued, “People crossing into the U.S. often don’t know what they’re going to endure to get here.”
Zack Taylor, Chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, argued that weak border security often encourages victimization. He told Breitbart Texas in a related interview that the U.S. is partially responsible for foreign nationals taking risky, extreme measures.
“Our government is encouraging foreign nationals to come into our country illegally and stay.” Taylor argued the Obama Administration and left-leaning media consciously shift attention away from heinous border crimes. “They are actively diverting scrutiny away from what is eroding the family in the U.S. and Mexico.”
In late March, Breitbart Texas reported on the increasing trend of child victims being abandoned by individuals attempting to illegally enter the U.S. Discarded children often become victims of human trafficking or other forms of slavery.
Taylor added, “Many of the crimes… are so great that to not speak out against it shows you’re complicit in it.”
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate
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