Border Patrol Agent Luis Edward Hermosillo charged with sexual assault
A U.S. Border Patrol officer has been jailed in lieu of $1 million this weekend after he was accused of using his job to rape a woman, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said this evening.
The officer, Luis Edward Hermosillo, is assigned to the federal agency’s Indio sector.
Investigators suspect there may be more victims.
“The investigation is still continuing,” said Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez. “The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department believes there may be more victims.”
Hermosillo, 41, remains jailed today on charges of kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault , sexual penetration, and sexual penetration under the color of authority.
Investigators said they learned of the incident on June 13, when they were notified by staff at a local hospital that a 26-year-old woman was seeking treatment for a sexual assault.
The assault is believed to have occurred in the area of Highway 86 at Avenue 72 in Thermal.
After an initial investigation, authorities identified Hermosillo, of Indio, as a suspect, according to a news release issued this evening.
Hermosillo was arrested on Friday.
He is detained in the Riverside County Jail in Indio and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol declined to comment this evening because he said he was unaware of the arrest.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Senior Investigator Joe Quintero at the Riverside County sheriff’s Indio station, at (760) 863-8990.
Border Patrol officer faces 3 charges of sexual assault
A Border Patrol officer accused of sexually assaulting a Mexican woman traveling on a tourist visa to Cathedral City with her two children followed her from a Salton Sea-area checkpoint, then pulled her over and demanded she drive to a secluded area, court records show.
Luis Edward Hermosillo, 41, faces three sexual assault charges stemming from the alleged assault June 13.
Hermosillo, who works out of the Border Patrol Office in Indio, appeared in court Monday for his arraignment, which was delayed until July 7.
His attorney, Robert W. Krause, asked Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez for the delay because he needed more time to review the case.
“It’s a very important case and we just want to make sure everyone is prepared,” Krause said outside of court.
Hernandez granted the delay and kept the defendant’s bail at $1 million.
Hermosillo is accused of following the 24-year-old victim from a checkpoint in the Salton Sea area before pulling her over on the Highway 86 Expressway near Mecca, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.
Hermosillo asked the woman to pull off the highway onto a secluded area on Avenue 72 so he could inspect a briefcase inside her vehicle that he claimed he forgot to examine at the checkpoint.
The woman, who was driving with her two 5-year-old and 2-year-old children, recognized the officer from the Salton Sea checkpoint and complied with his request.
Once off the highway, Hermosillo, who had a dog with him in a white F-150 pickup truck, pulled up next to her vehicle and asked her to drive to the end of the road, according to sheriff’s Investigator Bradley Farwell, who prepared the declaration.
The victim complied and got out of her vehicle to open her trunk, the investigator wrote. The officer asked her if he could search her person, but she declined.
“The Border Patrol Officer had the victim turn around and place her hands on the edge of the trunk of her vehicle,” Farwell wrote. “(Hermosillo) then used his hands to squeeze the victim’s breasts and feel around her upper torso.”
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