Illegal immigrant suspected in Wisconsin sexual assault, human trafficking of 12-year-old girl

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On Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 12:12 a.m. deputies from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a private residence in rural town of Oakfield for a sexual assault complaint.

The caller was a resident reporting a 12-year-old female had just showed up at his door seeking help. She had just fled from a vehicle in the area where an adult male had bound and blindfolded her and was attempting to assault her.

“Bravely, she was able to fight back, break free from the suspect and vehicle, and ran to the house for help,” authorities said.

Due to the nature of the allegations, detectives were called in to continue the investigation which progressed rapidly over the course of the next 40+ hours.

Detectives were able to determine the identity and location of the suspect and tactical plan was developed to take him into custody. The Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, with the assistance of the Fond du Lac Police Department SWAT team, executed a search warrant at a residence on Marquette Street in the City of Fond du Lac Monday evening. During the SWAT operation the suspect was eventually taken into custody without incident.

According to authorities, this investigation is complex and involves numerous serious potential crimes including sexual assault of a child, false imprisonment, child human trafficking, failure to protect a child, and others. It is alleged that the suspect paid the victim’s mother, who he knew, in exchange for spending time alone with the victim.

Sheriff’s detectives have determined the suspect of the assault is a 30 or 31-year-old Nicaraguan man (legal identity yet to be determined based on multiple aliases) who entered the United States illegally from Mexico into Texas in October of 2021.

At that time, authorities say he was apprehended by US Customs and Border Protection agents, processed at a federal facility, and released from their custody with instructions to follow per current federal immigration policy. Detectives are still working to determine the immigration status of the victim’s mother. She has also been arrested for numerous crimes related to this incident, and both are currently in custody in the Fond du Lac County Jail. Further arrests may be forthcoming once the remainder of the investigation is complete.

The juvenile victim and her siblings have all safely been taken into protective custody by the Fond du Lac County Human Services.

Further details of this case will be released in a criminal complaint when the suspects are criminally charged. Until that time, Sheriff’s Office will not be releasing additional information, as the investigation remains open and ongoing.

“Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt would like to acknowledge and thank the many local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and officers who worked tirelessly since early Sunday morning to locate and safely take into custody the suspects involved in this investigation,” authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the following agencies:
Fond du Lac Police Department
Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigations
Department of Homeland Security
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Fond du Lac Fire/Rescue
North Fond du Lac EMS
Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office