Juarez serial rapist caught - sentenced to 60 years imprisonment

(Original Post 4-9-09)

An El Paso, TX man has been captured by Juarez, Mexico police after allegedly going across the border and raping females between 13 and 20. The rapes took places between 8 and 10 PM, and always Tuesdays and Fridays in neighborhoods near the Rio Grande. The 1st known assault happened April 4, 2008; the last assault was April 3, 2009. Jorge Alberto Mendez Navarro, 43, has been officially charged with the rape of a 17 yera old girl March 24, but suspected in 18 other gunpoint rapes.

Mendez, who allegedly used a handgun, in some cases forced his way into a victim's home and claimed to be a hit man. He allegedly told women not to tell anyone or he would kill them, officials said. There were up to three victims in some assaults. On occasion, Mendez was allegedly nude wearing only black gloves and a tan panty- hose with eye-holes on his head during the attacks. Investigators said Mendez allegedly told one girl that he wasn't from Juárez.

The break in the case came after Mendez broke into two 19 year old women's homes, but was scared off by the victims' relative. The relative took down Mendez's license plate number, and Chihuahua State investigators arrested Mendez when he crossed the border in his 1997 Chevy Tahoe. Clothing, porn, and a Kia sedan were also seized.

Juarez is infamous for its drug related shootings due to the narcotics trade. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was the scene of hundereds of femicides (killings of women). Most of these killings are still unsolved.

(Update 7-22-10) Last week, after a two week trial in a Chihuahua, Mexico courtroom, Mendez was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment and an over 60,000 peso fine for the rapes of the girls and young women. Mendez was found guilty of aggravated rape, rape, child pornography, and sexual abuse.