Deported man returns to US illegally, sexually assaults woman
Authorities say Juan Lopez had been previously deported after serving prison time.
He returned to the U.S. illegally.
Thursday night, the lone star fugitive task force arrested 46-year-old Juan Lopez allegedly sexually assaulting a woman last month. Police say the two knew each other.
“Lopez asked the victim to keep his car for the duration of his out of town work. They had arranged to meet at a location where the victim could drive Lopez to an undisclosed area,” said Hector Gomez, Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.
With her toddler in the back seat, and Lopez in the passenger seat the victim got on I-35 headed south. Officials say Lopez instructed her to exit at 223, toward Creedmoor.
“He produced a knife and pressed the blade against her torso and ordered her to continue driving. He then ordered her to drive into a secluded cul-de-sac. He sexually assaulted her,” said Gomez.
The task force found him at an Austin apartment complex. Officers learned Juan Lopez was not his name. His Mexican federal election card stated he was Delfino Torres Solorio, that's where they thought it would end.
“Not feeling very comfortable about his responses, we fingerprinted him. As a result of the cross index, we were able to determine he was Delfino Torres Ayala,” said Gomez.
Ayala served prison time in Texas for a murder in Travis County in 1987. He was released on parole and deported to Mexico in 2009. Investigators say he crossed the border back into the U.S. illegally in 2015.
This comes at a time where sanctuary cities and police/ICE cooperation is being questioned at the capitol.
“The Juan Lopez’s of the world that we deal with and encounter, we encounter them daily. It just happens to be during a time frame where everyone's having discussions about what's being politically discussed,” said Gomez.
Ayala is charged with kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. Next to those charges, he faces parole violation and consequences for re-entering the U.S. illegally.