Tuesday, August 28, 2007

July rape of minor

Man accused of rape hours after he left jail
Associated PressOriginally published 12:49 p.m., July 4, 2007Updated 12:49 p.m., July 4, 2007

COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Maury County deputies and federal agents are looking for a man who is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl only hours after being released from jail.
Juan Villa, 24, has been in the Maury County Jail 11 times since 2001 on charges of assault, public intoxication, driving without a license and contempt of court.
He was released from jail on $1,000 bail on Friday at about 9:45 p.m. and is suspected of raping the 15-year-old shortly after midnight. During the investigation, a 13-year-old girl also told deputies she was raped by Villa, Sheriff Enoch George said.
Detective Jerry Williams said Villa knew the 15-year-old but the two were not close.
Villa is suspected of being in the country illegally and George said the department had contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement about him before he was released from jail but the federal agents said they would deal with him later.
"It is very frustrating," George said.
While searching for Villa at a mobile home park on Tuesday, authorities rounded up at least 13 people they believe are illegal immigrants.
The sheriff's department has detained about 80 illegal immigrants since May, including 25 in a single day. The arrests have prompted some immigrant rights group to accuse the department of racial profiling.
George defended the actions, saying the immigrants who were detained were encountered during criminal investigations.
"If they are here and they are trying to support their family, they are still here illegally," he said. "They are still here violating the law."
The sheriff said he will continue to work with federal immigration agents, but he also wants to enroll in a federal program that trains deputies to determine whether arrestees are illegally in the country.

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