Illegal alien charged with multiple, serial rapes over DECADE in Indiana
He faces multiple charges, including rape, attempted rape, burglary, criminal confinement, sexual battery, kidnapping, and strangulation.
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He faces multiple charges, including rape, attempted rape, burglary, criminal confinement, sexual battery, kidnapping, and strangulation.
An illegal alien in Indiana is facing 30 charges after Immigration and Customs Enforcement collected DNA evidence that allegedly linked him to a string of sexual assaults spanning more than a decade.
According to Fox News, Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca was charged by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office on April 26 in connection with alleged attacks that took place within a 10-block area on the north side of Indianapolis between March 2013 and January 2024.
Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said Catalan-Torreblanca faces 30 charges, including serious felony offenses that could carry prison sentences of up to 50 years under Indiana’s former penal code.
Investigators had long suspected the cases were connected after DNA profiles from multiple crime scenes were linked through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. However, authorities were unable to identify a suspect because Catalan-Torreblanca’s only prior criminal history was a misdemeanor DUI offense, which did not require a DNA sample.
That changed after a recent ICE DNA collection entered his profile into CODIS, allegedly producing a match to the crime scenes. FBI Special Agent in Charge Tim O’Malley confirmed to the outlet that Catalan-Torreblanca was in the United States illegally. However, officials said they are “not entirely sure exactly where he’s from originally.”
The FBI confirmed his identity on April 22, and within four hours, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit tracked him down at a relative’s home and arrested him. FBI Director Kash Patel praised the investigation in a statement on X, saying the FBI and its partners used advanced DNA technology and CODIS to charge the suspect.
https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2052332655115436447?s=20
Catalan-Torreblanca is being held on a standard bond. It remains unclear whether ICE has lodged an immigration detainer against him.
Mears also praised the “incredible strength and resiliency” of the survivors who assisted investigators in bringing the charges forward.
Authorities warned there may be additional victims or related cases without DNA evidence, noting that Catalan-Torreblanca may have lived near the apartment complexes where the alleged attacks occurred. He faces multiple charges, including rape, attempted rape, burglary, criminal confinement, sexual battery, kidnapping, and strangulation.
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