Iowa Man Allegedly Smuggles Migrant Teen, Rapes Her While Wife Watches

A couple residing in Sioux City, Iowa, allegedly smuggled a Guatemalan teen and her father into the U.S. The Guatemalan teen claims the man raped her repeatedly while his wife watched.

Sioux City Police Department officers received a call about a minor female wandering the streets claiming to have been raped. The young girl, identified in court documents as ABF, told the police that a couple helped smuggle her and her father from Guatemala to the United States and then on to Iowa after they were released in El Paso, Texas, by Border Patrol agents, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Breitbart News.

ABF told the officers that the man, identified in court documents as Cristobal Francisco-Nicolas, raped her five times. She asserted that his wife, identified in court documents as Amy Francisco, watched from the bedroom door on at least one occasion, the complaint alleges.

ABF told investigators that her mother died when ABF was about three or four-years-old and that her aunt raised her, the complaint continues. She said her father “appeared” in May and said he wanted to take her to the U.S. She reportedly said she did not want to go but her father, identified in court documents as Fernando Bartolo Francisco, separated her from her aunt who had been raising her from early childhood. He allegedly insisted that she go with her.

The father and daughter reportedly traveled from Guatemala, through Mexico where they crossed the border into the U.S. on May 29 by walking across the Rio Grande 18 miles west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso. Border Patrol agents arrested them and fingerprinted them. The agents released her and her father the following day due to processing center overcrowding, the complaint states. Officials released them on an Order of Recognizance and Supervision.

From their release in El Paso, the father and ABF flew to Omaha, Nebraska where “Francisco” (later identified as Cristobal Francisco-Nicolas) and “Sofia” (later identified as Amy Francisco) picked them up and drove them to a house in Sioux City.

The father then reportedly “left her” with the couple in Sioux City. It is not clear where the father went or if he simply abandoned her after using her to exploit loopholes in U.S. immigration law to get past Border Patrol and immigration officials.

ABF reportedly told the investigators that Cristobal and Amy locked her in a room with a “metal bed and a bucket for bodily waste.” She stated that Cristobal began raping her and that Amy watched from the door to the locked room, the complaint continued.

After allegedly being raped five times, ABF managed to escape from the house after Amy left the door unlocked as she slept and Cristobal left for work. ABF said she fled from the house and found someone who could speak Spanish. The person she found contacted the local police department. Her escape occurred on June 5, the complaint states.

Sioux City police contacted Homeland Security Investigations for information about Fernando’s arrest information with Border Patrol HSI provided the local police with the address that Fernando allegedly gove Border Patrol agents in Sioux City. That address proved to be unrelated to this case. However, he also left a phone number (identified in court records as smuggler phone #1).

Police finally managed to contact Fernando on June 18 by calling smuggler phone #1. Amy acted as an interpreter for Fernando during the call.

The father (Fernando) and the Francisco couple agreed to speak with HSI investigators on June 19.

During what investigators called a “non-custodial” interview, all three agreed to talk to police after being read their Miranda rights and signing a waiver of those rights.

Cristobal allegedly told investigators that he learned about ABF and Fernando wanting to come to the U.S. from his Guatemalan sister. She reportedly put Fernando on the phone with Cristobal who subsequently made arrangements to get them to the U.S.

Cristobal reportedly told investigators he made all of the travel arrangements and sent money to someone in Guatemala to get them to the U.S. border. He further allegedly claimed he picked them up at the Omaha airport. He reportedly told the investigators that he knew he messed up by receiving these people.

When investigators asked him about the allegations of rape made by ABF, Cristobal ceased answering questions and asked for an attorney.

Amy allegedly told the investigators that a woman named “Sofia” contacted her and asked her to meet her at the Greyhound Bus Station in Sioux City to purchase some tickets for her relatives. The bus tickets were reportedly sold out so “Sofia” asked her to purchase plane tickets. She said she gave “Sofia” the cash so she could deposit it in her bank account and use her own credit card to pay for the tickets.

Amy continued by claiming that “Sofia” asked her to pick up the relatives at the Omaha airport because she did not know how to get there, the complaint states. She reportedly told the investigators that she and Cristobal picked up ABF and Fernando and dropped them off at a local bakery where “Sofia” picked them up. She further claimed that Fernando called her again later and said “Sofia” abandoned them at the bakery. She said she picked them up and transported them to her house and let the stay there. She said she went to sleep on June 4 and when she woke up, ABF was gone and nobody knew where she was.

Police conducted a lineup and ABF reportedly identified Amy as “Sofia.” at that point, Amy requested an attorney and questioning stopped.

During the interview with ABF’s father, Fernando, he reportedly told investigators that he communicated with “Sofia” to make the arrangements to come to the U.S. from Guatemala. He later said that “Sofia” and Amy were the same person, the complaint states. He reportedly stated that Amy paid smugglers in Guatemala because he didn’t have any money. He insisted he is ABF’s father and that he continued living at Amy’s house.

Police executed a search warrant at the house and found several people in the residence. Those included Amy’s father (a U.S. citizen), a friend of Cristobal’s (a Guatemalan citizen), a minor male, and another minor male, the complaint states.

During an interview with Amy’s father, he reportedly told investigators that Amy and Cristobal made arrangements for ABF and Fernando to travel from Guatemala to the U.S. They reportedly told Fernando that he must bring a child with him. He said they were to turn themselves in at the border and then, if released, contact Amy for flight arrangements to Iowa.

Once they arrived in Sioux City, they were expected to get a job with Amy’s assistance and help pay for rent and the food while they lived at the house. They were also to pay Amy and Cristobal and Amy back for the smuggling fees.

The other foreign nationals in the house also reportedly told investigators Amy and Cristobal helped smuggle them to the U.S. and they were also helping to pay household expenses and repaying smuggling fees, the complaint states.

All of the foreign nationals found in the house are reportedly under an Order of Supervision from immigration officials.

During additional lineups, ABF reportedly identified Cristobal as the alleged rapist.

Currently, Amy and Cristobal are charged with “Bringing in and Harboring Certain Aliens, an offense under 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(C)(2).

Breitbart News reached out to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for information about the citizenship and immigration status of Cristobal. Officials stated no further information could be provided because of an ongoing investigation.