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June 30, 2009

Man extradited from Texas faces rape, child molestation charges here

Mark Millican

A man will face charges here related to impregnating an 11-year-old girl after being arrested in Texas in early June, officials said.

Jesus Ernesto Grijalva, 36, of Cuauhtemoc in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico, was charged Monday by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office with statutory rape, aggravated child molestation and rape. He was extradited from Uvalde, Texas.

“We began an investigation in August after being notified by the Department of Family and Children Services that an 11-year-old girl was pregnant,” said Capt. Rick Swiney with the sheriff’s office. “We found out the suspect worked with the father of the girl and did not have a place to live. The family tried to help him out, and he stayed with them about a week in May and then just left without telling them anything.”

Swiney said the girl told investigators Grijalva “forced her to have sex.”

“We felt like that was why he left without saying anything to the family,” Swiney said.

Investigators took evidence to District Attorney Kermit McManus, who presented it to a multi-disciplinary review team that looks at all child abuse cases.

“It can go straight to the grand jury or it can continue to be investigated with suggestions to the investigators about getting more evidence,” McManus said. “Or, there may just not be enough to go on (to make a case).”

He said he could not recall how quickly Grijalva’s case moved through the review team since the case was several months old, but investigators issued a warrant through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). That warrant hit paydirt in Uvalde — approximately 50 miles from the Mexican border — where Grijalva was arrested on June 10, said a spokeswoman with the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office.

Grijalva was denied bond on Tuesday by Magistrate Court Judge Chris Griffin. He is expected to have a bond hearing in Superior Court next Tuesday.

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