Report: Man Suspected of Illegally Crossing U.S.-Mexico Border Faces Child Rape Charges

Rafael Martinez, Courtesy: Geauga County Sheriff's Office
Geauga County Sheriff's Office

A man in Cleveland, Ohio has been taken into police custody and is now facing rape charges after authorities obtained a warrant for his arrest on Wednesday.

The man is also suspected of illegally crossing the southern United States border at least five times, according to local reports.

Rafael Martinez, 45-years-old, who is suspected of illegally crossing the United States southern border multiple times, has been accused of raping two children under the age of 13 on or around January 1, 2008 to January 1, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio, according to a report by Fox 8 Cleveland.

The report added that Martinez is suspected of illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico at least five times.

Martinez now faces an aggravated felony first degree rape charge after being taken into police custody on Wednesday, and had requested Spanish interpreter services on Saturday, according to the Cleveland Municipal Court.

The suspect was arrested by Geauga County Sheriff’s deputies and police officers from Middlefield, a small Ohio village roughly 50 miles east of downtown Cleveland.

Martinez was booked into the Geauga County Jail and later turned over to Cleveland police, according to a report by Cleveland.com, adding that the suspect’s first appearance in the Cleveland Municipal Court has not yet been scheduled.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.

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